'•y 


^ 


SERMONS 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  FRENCH 


OF 


THE  LATE  REV.  JAMES  SAURIN 


VOL.  I. 
BT  ROBERT  ROBIJSTSOM 


SERMONS 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  FRENCH 


OF 


THE  LATE  REV.  JAMES  SAURIN, 


PASTOR  OF  THE  FRENCH  CHURCH  AT  THE  HAGUE. 


BY  ROBERT  ROBInSON. 


VOLUME  I. 


ON  THE  A  TTRIB  UTES  OF  GOD. 


SECOND    AMERICAN 
FROM  THE  FIFTH  LONDON  EDITION. 


SCHEMECTABY  : 
PUBLISHED  BY  WILLIAM  J.  M'CARTEE. 

E.&  E.  Hosford— Printers— Albany. 

1813. 


CONTENTS 

OF    THE 

FIRST    VOL  UME. 

SERMON  I. 

The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

Hebrews  v.  vi. 

Page  69 

SERMON  II. 

The  Eternity  of  God. 
2  Peter  iii. 


103 


SERMON  III. 

Tlie  Omnipresence  of  God. 
Psalm  cxxxix. 

SERMON  IV. 

The  Grandeur  of  God. 
Isaiah  xl. 


133 


16' 


VI  CONTENTS. 


SERMON  y. 


The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom,  and  the  Abun- 
dance of  his  Power. 


Jeremiah  xxxii. 

SERMON  YI. 

The  Holiness  of  God. 
Leviticus  xix. 

SERMON  VII. 

The  Compassion  of  God. 
Psalm  ciii. 


Page  195 


227 


255 


SERMON  VIII. 

The  Incomprehensibility  of  the  Mercy  of  God. 

Isaiah  Iv. 

285 

SERMON  IX. 

The  Severity  of  God. 

Hebrews  xii. 

311 


CONTENTS.  VU 


SERMON  X. 

The  Patience  of  God. 
Genesis  xv. 

SERMON  XL 

The  Long-suffering  of  God. 
EccLESiASTES  viii. 

SERMON  XIL 

God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 
Part  I.     Jeremiah  x. 

SERMON  XIL 

God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 
Part  11.     Jeremiah  x. 

SERMON  XIIL 

The  Manner  of  Praising  God. 
Psalm  xxxiii. 


Page  335 


361 


387 


405 


427 


MEMOIRS 


OF  THE 

EEFORM^TIOJ^  IJV  FRdJ^CE, 

AND  OF 

THE  LIFE 

OF    THE 

REV.  JAMES  SAURIN. 


The  celebrated  Mr.  Saurin,  author  of  the  fol- 
lowing sermons,  was  a  French  refugee,  who,  with 
thousands  of  his  countrymen,  took  shelter  in  Hol- 
land from  the  persecutions  of  France.  The  lives, 
and  even  the  sermons,  of  the  refugees  are  so  close- 
ly connected  with  the  history  of  the  Reformation 
in  France,  that,  we  presume,  a  short  sketch  of  the 
state  of  religion  in  that  kingdom  till  the  banish- 
ment of  the  Protestants  by  Lewis  XIV.  will  not 
be  disagieeable  to  some  of  the  younger  part  of 
our  readers. 

Gaul,  which  is  now  called  France,  in  the  time  of 
Jesus  Christ,  was  a  province  of  the  Roman  empire, 
and  some  of  the  apostles  planted  Christianity  in  it. 
In  the  first  centuries,  while  Christianity  continu- 
ed a  rational  religion,  it  spread  and  supported  it- 
self without  the  help,  and  against  the  persecutions, 

VOL.  I.  2 


X        Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 

of  the  Roman  emperors.  Numbers  were  convert- 
ed from  paganism,  several  Christian  societies  were 
formed,  and  many  eminent  men,  having  spent 
their  lives  in  preaching  and  writing  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  gospel,  sealed  their  doctrine  with 
their  blood. 

In  the  fifth  century,  Clovis  I.  a  pagan  king  of 
France,  fell  in  love  with  Clotilda,  a  Christian  prin- 
cess of  the  house  of  Burgundy,  who  agreed  to  mar- 
ry him  only  on  condition  of  his  becoming  a 
Christian,  to  which  he  consented.    The  king, 
however,  delayed  the  performance  of  this  condition 
till  five  years  after  his  marriage ;  when,  being  enga- 
ged in  a  desperate  battle,  and  having  reason  to  fear 
the  total  defeat  of  his  army,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  to 
heaven,  and  put  up  this  prayer,  God  of  Queen  Clo- 
tilda! Grant  me  the  victory,  and  I  vow  to  be  hap- 
Used,  and  thenceforth  to  worship  no  other  God  hul 
thee!  He   obtained  the  victory,  and  at  his  return, 
was  baptized  at  Rheims.     His  sister,  and 
more  than  three  thousand  of  his  subjects 
followed  his  example,  and  Christianity  be- 
came the  professed  religion  of  France. 

Conversion  implies  the  cool  exercise  of  reason, 
and  whenever  passion  takes  the  place,  and  does  the 
office  of  reason,  conversion  is  nothing  but  a  name. 
Baptism  did  not  wash  away  the  sins  of  Clovis;  be- 
fore it  he  was  vile,  after  it  he  was  infamous,  prac- 
tising all  kinds  of  treachery  and  cruelty.  The 
court,  the  army,  and  the  common  people,  who 
were  pagan  when  the  king  was  pagan,  and  Chris- 
tian when  he  was  Christian,  continued  the  same  in 
their  morals  after  theu'  conversion  as  before.    When 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,        xi 

the  Christian  church,  therefore,  opened  her  doors, 
and  delivered  up  her  keys  to  these  new  converts, 
she  gained  nothing  in  comparison  of  what  she  lost. 
She  increased  the  number,  the  riches,  the  pomp, 
and  the  power,  of  her  family:  but  she  resigned  the 
exercise  of  reason,  the  sufficiency  of  scripture,  the 
purity  of  worship,  the  grand  simplicity  of  inno- 
cence, truth,  and  virtue,  and  became  a  creature  of 
the  state.  A  virgin  before;  she  became  a  prosti- 
tute now. 

Such  Christians,  in  a  long  succession,  converted 
Christianity  into  something  worse  than  paganism. 
They  elevated  the  Christian  church  into  a  temporal 
kingdom,  and  they  degraded  temporal  kingdoms 
into  fiefs  of  the  church.  They  founded  dominion 
in  grace,  and  they  explained  grace  to  be  a  love  of 
dominion.  And  by  these  means  they  completed 
that  general  apostacy,  known  by  the  name  of 
Popery,  which  St.  Paul  had  foretold,  1  Tim,  iv.  1. 
and  which  rendered  the  reformation  of  the  six- 
teenth century  essential  to  the  interests  of  all  man- 
kind. 

The  state  of  religion  at  that  time  w^as  1515. 
truly  deplorable.  Ecclesiastical  government,  instead 
of  that  evangelical  simplicity,  and  fraternal  free- 
dom, which  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  had 
taught,  Avas  become  a  spiritual  domination  under 
the  form  of  a  temporal  empke.  An  innumerable 
multitude  of  dignities,  titles,  rights,  honors,  privi- 
leges, and  pre-eminences  belonged  to  it,  and  were 
all  dependent  on  a  sovereign  priest,  who,  being 
an  absolute  monarch,  required  every  thought  to 
be  in  subjection  to  him.    The  chief  ministers  of 


xii         Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

religion  were  actually  become  temporal  princes, 
and  the  high-priest,  being  absolute  sovereign  of  the 
ecclesiastical  state,  had  his  court  and  his  council, 
his  ambassadors  to  negociate,  and  his  armies  to 
murder  his  flock.  The  clergy  had  acquired  im- 
mense wealth,  and,  as  their  chief  study  was  either 
to  collect  and  to  augment  their  revenues,  or  to  pre- 
vent the  alienation  of  their  estates,  they  had  con- 
stituted numberless  spiritual  corporations,  with 
powers,  rights,  statutes^  privileges,  and  officers. 
The  functions  of  the  ministry  were  generally  neg- 
lected, and,  of  consequence,  gross  ignorance  pre- 
vailed. All  ranks  of  men  were  extremely  deprav- 
ed in  their  morals,  and  the  Pope's  penitentiary  had 
published  the  price  of  every  crime,  as  it  was  rated 
in  the  tax-book  of  the  Roman  chancery.  Mar- 
riages, which  reason  and  scripture  allowed,  the 
Pope  prohibited,  and,  for  money,  dispensed  with 
those  which  both  forbad.  Church-benefices  were 
sold  to  children,  and  to  laymen,  who  then  let 
them  to  under  tenants,  none  of  whom  performed 
the  duty,  for  which  the  profits  were  paid ;  but  all 
having  obtained  them  by  simony,  spent  their  lives 
in  fleecing  the  flock  to  repay  themselves.  The 
power  of  the  pontiff  was  so  great  that  he  assum- 
ed, and,  what  was  more  astonishing,  was  suffer- 
ed to  exercise  a  supremacy  over  many  kingdoms. 
"When  monarchs  gratified  his  will,  he  put  on  a  tri- 
ple crown,  ascended  a  throne,  suffered  them  to  call 
him  Holiness,  and  to  kiss  his  feet.  When  they 
disobliged  liim,  he  suspended  all  religious  worship  in 
their  dominions  ;  published  false  and  abusive  libels, 
called  bulls,  which  operated  as  laws,  to  injure  their 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformaiion  in  France,      xiii 

persons  ;  discharged  their  subjects  from  obedience ; 
and  gave  their  crowns  to  any  who  would  usurp 
them.  He  claimed  an  infallibility  of  knowledge, 
and  an  omnipotence  of  strength ;  and  he  forbad 
the  world  to  examine  his  claim.  He  was  addres- 
sed by  titles  of  blasphemy,  and, though  he  owned  no 
jurisdiction  over  himself,  yet  he  affected  to  extend 
his  authority  over  heaven  and  hell,  as  well  as  over 
a  middle  place  called  purgatory,  of  all  which  places, 
he  said,  he  kept  the  keys.  This  irregular  church- 
polity  was  attended  with  quarrels,  intrigues,  schisms, 
and  wars. 

Religion  itself  was  made  to  consist  of  the  per- 
formance of  numerous  ceremonies,  of  Pagan,  Jew- 
ish, and  Monkish  extraction,  all  which  might  be 
performed  without  either  faith  in  God,  or  love  to 
mankind.  The  church  ritual  was  an  address,  not 
to  the  reason,  but  to  the  senses  of  men :  music 
stole  the  ear,  and  soothed  the  passions;  statues, 
paintings,  vestments,  and  various  ornaments,  be- 
guiled the  eye ;  while  the  pause  which  was  pro- 
duced by  that  sudden  attack,  which  a  multitude  of 
objects  made  on  the  senses,  on  entering  a  spa- 
cious decorated  edifice,  was  enthusiastically  taken 
for  devotion.  Blind  obedience  was  first  allowed  by 
courtesy,  and  then  established  by  law.  Public 
worship  was  performed  in  an  unknown  tongue,  and 
the  sacrament  was  adored  as  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ.  The  credit  of  the  ceremonial  produced  in 
the  people  a  notion,  that  the  performance  of  it  was 
the  practice  of  piety,  and  religion  degenerated  in- 
to gross  superstition.  Vice,  uncontrolled  by  rea- 
son or  scripture,  retained  a  pagan  vigor,  and  com- 


xiv      Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  F ranee » 

milted  the  most  horrid  crimes :  and  superstition 
atoned  for  them,  by  building  and  endowing  reli- 
gious houses,  and  by  bestowing  donations  on 
the  church.  Human  merit  Vvas  introduced,  saints 
were  invoked,  and  the  perfections  of  God  were  dis- 
tributed by  canonization,  among  the  creatures  of 
the  Pope. 

The  pillars  that  supported  this  edifice  were 
immense  riches,  arising  by  impost  from  the  sins  of 
mankind  ;  idle  distinctions  between  supreme  and 
subordinate  adoration ;  senseless  axioms,  called  the 
divinity  of  the  schools;  preachments  of  buffoonery 
or  blasphemy,  or  both  ;  cruel  casuistry,  consisting 
of  a  body  of  dangerous  and  scandalous  morality ; 
false  miracles  and  midnight  visions ;  spurious  books 
and  paltry  relics ;  oaths,  dungeons,  inquisitions, 
and  crusades.      The  whole  was  denominated  the 

HOLY,     CATHOLIC,    AND    APOSTOLIC    CHURCH,     and    laid 

to  the  charge  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Loud  complaints  had  been  made  of  these  exces- 
ses, for  the  last  hundred  and  fifty  years,  to  those 
whose  business  it  Avas  to  reform,  and,  as  bad  as  they 
were,  they  had  owned  the  necessity  of  reformation, 
and  had  repeatedly  promised  to  reform.  Several 
councils  had  been  called  for  the  purpose  of  reform- 
ing ;  but  nothing  had  been  done,  nor  could  any  thing 
be  expected  from  assemblies  of  mercenary  men, 
who  were  too  deeply  interested  in  darkness  to  vote 
for  day.  They  were  inflexible  against  every  re- 
monstrance, and,  as  a  Jesuit  has  since  expressed 
it,  "  Theij  Kould  not  extinguish  one  taper ^  though  it 
were  to  convert  all  the  Hugonots  in  France.'' 


3Iemoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,        xv 

The  restorers  of  literature  reiterated  and  reason- 
ed on  these  complaints  :  but  they  reasoned  to  the 
wind.  The  church  champions  were  hard  driven, 
they  tried  every  art  to  support  their  cause:  but 
they  could  not  get  rid  of  the  attack  by  a  polite  du- 
plicity ;  they  could  not  intimidate  their  sensible  op- 
ponents by  anathemas ;  they  would  not  dispute  the 
matter  by  scripture,  and  they  could  not  defend 
themselves  by  any  other  method ;  they  were  too 
obstinate  to  reform  themselves,  and  too  proud  to  be 
reformed  by  their  inferiors.  At  length,  the  plaintiffs 
laid  aside  the  thoughts  of  applying  to  them,  and,  hav- 
ing found  out  the  liberty/  wherewith  Christ  had  made 
them  free,  went  about  reforming  themselves.  The 
reformers  were  neither  popes,  cardinals,  nor  bish- 
ops :  but  they  were  good  men,  who  aimed  to  pro- 
mote the  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of  mankind. 

This  was  the  state  of  the  church,  when  Fran- 

1 "  1  < 

cis  I.  ascended  the  throne. 

Were  we  to  enter  into  a  minute  examination  of 
the  reformation  in  France,  we  would  own  a  partic- 
ular interposition  of  Providence  :  but  we  would  al- 
so take  the  liberty  to  observe,  that  a  happy  conjunc- 
tion of  jarring  interests  rendered  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury a  fit  aera  for  reformation.  Events  that  produ- 
ced, protected,  and  persecuted  reformation,  pro- 
ceeded from  open  and  hidden,  great  and  little,  good 
and  bad  causes.  The  capacities  and  the  tempers, 
the  virtues  and  the  vices,  the  views  and  the  inter- 
ests, the  wives  and  the  mistresses,  of  the  princes 
of  those  times;  the  abilities  and  dispositions  of 
the  officers  of  each  crown ;  the  powers  of  govern- 
ment, and  the  persons  who   wrought   them;    the 


XTi      Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

tempers  and  geniuses  of  the  people ;  all  these,  and 
many  more,  were  springs  of  action,  which,  in  their 
turns,  directed  the  great  events  that  were  exhibit- 
ed to  public  view.  But  our  limits  allow  no  inqui- 
ries of  this  kind. 

The  reformation  which  began  in  Germany  spread 

itself  to   Geneva,  and   thence   into   France.      The 

French  had  a  translation  of  the  Bible,  which  hadbeen 

made  by  Guiars  des  Moulins.     It  had  been 

In  1224.  j.g^jgg(j^  corrected,  and  printed  at  Paris,  by 

^^^^'  order  of  Charles  VIII.  and  the  study  of  it 
now  began  to  prevail.  The  reigning  king,  who  was 
a  patron  of  learning,  encouraged  his  valet  de  cham- 
bre,  Clement  Marot,  to  versify  some  of  David's 
psalms,  and  took  great  pleasure  in  singing  them,* 
and  either  protected,  or  persecuted  the  reformation, 
as  his  interest  seemed  to  him  to  require.  Although 
he  went  in  procession  to  burn  the  first 
martyrs  of  the  reformed  church,  yet  in 
the  same  year,  he  sent  for  Melancthon  to  come  in- 
to France  to  reconcile  religious  differences.  Al- 
though he  persecuted  his  own  protestant  subjects 
with  infinite  inhumanity,  yet  when  he  was  afraid, 
that  the  ruin  of  the  German  protestants  would 
strengthen  the  hands  of  the  emperor  Charles  V.  he 
made  an  alliance  with  the  protestant  princes  of  Ger- 

*  His  majesty's  favorite  psalm,  which  he  sang  when  he  went 
a  huntin^^,  was  the  42cl.  The  queen  used  to  sing  the  6th,  and 
the  king's  mistress  the  130th.  Marot  translated  fifty,  Beza  the 
other  hundred,  Calvin  got  them  set  to  music  by  the  best  musi- 
cians, and  eveiy  body  sang  them  as  ballads.  When  the  reform- 
ed churches  made  them  a  part  of  their  worship,  the  papists  were 
forbidden  to  sing  them  any  more,  and  to  sing  a  psalm  was  a  sign 
of  a  Luthei-an. 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France.      xvii 

many,  and  he  allowed  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  his  se- 
cond son,  to  offer  them  the  free  exercise  of  their 
relig;ion  in  tlie  Dukedom  of  Luxemburg.  He  suf- 
fered his  sister,  the  Queen  of  Navarre,  to  protect 
the  reformation  in  her  country  of  Beam,  and  even 
saved  Geneva,  when  Charles  Duke  of  Savoy  would 
have  taken  it.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing  in  that 
age  for  princes  to  trifle  thus  with  religion.  His  ma- 
jesty's first  concern  was  to  be  a  king,  his  second  to 
act  like  a  rational  creature. 

The  reformation  greatly  increased  in  this  reign. 
The  pious  Queen  of  Navarre  made  her  court  a  cov- 
ert from  every  storm,  supplied  France  with  preach- 
ers, and  the  exiles  at  Geneva  with  money.  Calvin, 
who  had  fled  from  his  rectory  in  France,  ^^^^^ 
and  had  settled  at  Geneva,  was  a  chief  in- 
strument, he  slid  his  catechism,  and  other 
books  into  France.  Some  of  the  bishops  were  in- 
clined to  the  reformation :  but  secretly,  for  fear  of 
the  Christians  of  Rome.  The  reformation  was  cal- 
led Calvinism,  The  people  were  named  Sacramen- 
tarians,  Lutherans,  Calvinists ;  and  nick-named  Hu- 
gonots,  either  from  Hugon,  a  Hobgoblin,  because, 
to  avoid  persecution,  they  held  their  assemblies  in 
the  night ;  or  from  the  gate  Hugon,  in  Tours,  where 
they  used  to  meet ;  or  from  a  Swiss  word,  which 
signifies  a  league. 

Henry  IL  who  succeeded  his  father  Fran-    1547. 
cis,   was  a  weak,   and  a  wicked  prince.     The  in- 
crease of  his  authority  was  the  law  and  the  prophets 
to  him.     He  violently  persecuted  the  Calvinists  of 

VOL.   T.  8 


iviii     Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 

France  because  he  was  taiiorht  to  believe,  that  here- 
sy was  a  faction  repugnant  to  authority;  and  he 
made  an  alliance  with  the  Gertnan  protestants,  and 
was  pleased  with  the  title  of  Protector  of  the  Ger- 
manic liberties,  that  is,  protector  of  protestantism. 
This  alliance  he  made,  in  order  to  check  the  power 
of  Charles  Y.  He  was  governed,  sometimes  by  his 
queen,  Catharine  de  Medicis,  niece  of  Pope  Cle- 
ment VII.  who,  it  is  said,  never  did  right  except 
she  did  it  by  mistake :  often  by  the  constable  de 
Montniorenci,  whom,  contrary  to  the  express  com- 
mand of  his  father,  in  his  dying  illness,  he  had  pla- 
ced at  the  head  of  administration :  chiefly  by  his 
mistress,  Diana  of  Poitiers,  who  had  been  mistress 
to  his  father,  and  who  bore  an  implacable  hatred  to 
the  protestants  :  and  always  by  some  of  his  favour- 
ites, whom  he  suffered  to  amass  immense  fortunes 
by  accusing  men  of  heresy.  The  reformation  was 
very  much  advanced  in  this  reign.  The  gentry  pro- 
moted the  acting  of  plays,  in  which  the  comedians 
exposed  the  lives  and  doctrines  of  the  popish  cler- 
gy, and  the  poignant  wit  and  humour  of  the  come- 
dians, afforded  infinite  diversion  to  the  people,  and 
conciliated  them  to  the  new  preachers.  Be- 
za,  who  had  fled  to  Geneva,  came  backward 
and  forward  into  Fiance,  and  was  a  chief  promoter 
of  the  work.  His  Latin  Testament,  which  he  first 
published  in  this  reign,  was  much  read, 
greatly  admired,  and  contributed  to  the 
spread  of  the  cause.  The  New  Testament  was  the 
Goliah's  sword  of  the  clerical  reformers,  there  was 
none  like  if. 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France.       xix 

Francis  II.  succeeded  his  father  Henry. 
He  was  only  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his 
age,  extremely  weak  both  in  body  and  mind,  and 
therefore  incapable  of  governing  the  kingdom  by 
himself.  In  this  reign  began  those  civil  wars,  which 
raged  in  France  for  almost  forty  years.  They  have 
been  charged  on  false  zeal  for  religion  :  but  this 
charge  is  a  calumny,  for  the  crown  of  France  was 
the  prize  for  which  the  generals  fought.  It  was  that 
which  inspired  them  with  hopes  and  fears,  product- 
ive of  devotions  or  persecutions,  as  either  of  them 
opened  access  to  the  throne.  The  interests  of  re- 
ligion, indeed,  fell  in  with  these  views,  and  so  the 
parties  were  blended  together  in  war. 

The  family  of  Charles  the  Great,  which  had 
reigned  in  France  for  236  years,  either  became  ex- 
tinct, or  was  deprived  of  its  inheritance,  at  the 
death  of  Lewis  the  Lazy.  Him,  Hugh  Ca- 
pet had  succeeded,  and  had  transmitted  the 
crown  to  his  own  posterity,  which,  in  this  reign, 
subsisted  in  two  principal  branches,  in  that  of  Ya- 
lois,  which  was  in  possession  of  the  throne,  and  in 
that  of  Bourbon,  the  next  heir  to  the  throne  of 
France,  and  then  in  possession  of  Beam.  The 
latter  had  been  driven  out  of  the  kingdom  of  Na- 
varre :  but  they  retained  the  title,  and  were  some- 
limes  at  Beam  and  sometimes  at  the  court  of  France. 
The  house  of  Guise,  Dukes  of  Lorraine,  a  very  rich 
and  powerful  family,  to  whose  niece,  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots,  the  young  king  was  man'ied,  pretended 
to  make  out  their  descent  from  Charles  the  Great, 
and  were  competitors,  when  the  times  served,  with 
the  reigning  family  for  the  throne,  and,  at  other 


sx 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 


times,  with  the  Bourbon  family,  for  the  apparent 
heirship  to  it.  With  these  views  they  directed  their 
family  alliances,  perfected  themselves  in  military 
skill,  and  intrigued  at  court  for  the  administration 
of  affairs.  These  three  houses  formed  three  parties. 
The  house  of  Guise  (the  chiefs  of  which  were  five 
brethren  at  this  time)  headed  one ;  the  king  of  Na- 
Tarre,  the  princes  of  the  blood,  and  the  great  offi- 
cers of  the  crown,  the  other;  the  ftueen  mother, 
who  managed  the  interests  of  the  reigning  family, 
exercised  her  policy  on  both,  to  keep  either  from 
becoming  too  strong ;  while  the  feeble  child  on  the 
throne  was  alternately  a  prey  to  them  all. 

Protestantism  had  obtained  numerous  converts  in 
the  last  reign.  Several  princes  of  the  blood,  some 
chief  officers  of  the  crown,  and  many  principal  fam- 
ilies, had  embraced  it,  and  its  partizans  were  so  nu- 
merous, both  in  Paris  and  in  all  the  provinces,  that 
each  leader  of  the  court  parties,  deliberating  on  the 
policy  of  strengthening  his  party,  by  openly  espous- 
ing the  reformation,  by  endeavouring  to  free  the 
protestants  from  penal  laws,  and  by  obtaining  a 
free  toleration  for  them.  At  length,  the  house  of 
Bourbon  declared  for  protestantism,  and,  of  conse- 
quence, the  Guises  were  inspired  with  zeal  for  the 
support  of  the  ancient  religion,  and  took  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  under  their  protection.  The  king  of 
Navarre,  and  the  prince  of  Conde,  were  the  heads 
of  the  first :  but  the  Duke  of  Guise  had  the  ad- 
dress to  obtain  the  chief  management  of  affairs,  and 
the  protestants  were  persecuted  with  insatiable  fury 
all  the  time  of  this  reign. 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France.      xxi 

Had  religion  then  no  share  in  these  commotions  ? 
Certainly  it  liad,  with  many  of  the  princes,  and 
with  multitudes  of  the  soldiers :  But  they  were  a 
motley  mixture  ;  one  fought  for  his  coronet,  anoth- 
er for  his  land,  a  third  for  liberty  of  conscience,  and 
a  fourth  for  pay.  Courage  was  a  joint  stock,  and 
they  were  mutual  sharers  of  gain  or  loss,  praise  or 
blame.  It  was  religion  to  secure  the  lives  and  prop- 
erties of  noble  families,  and  though  the  common 
people  had  no  lordships,  yet  they  had  the  more  val- 
uable rights  of  conscience,  and  for  them  they  fought. 
We  mistake,  if  we  imagine  that  the  French  have 
never  understood  the  nature  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  they  have  well  understood  it,  though  they 
have  not  been  able  to  obtain  it.  Suum  cuique  would 
have  been  as  expressive  a  motto  as  any  that  the 
protestant  generals  could  have  borne. 

The  persecution  of  the  protestants  was  very  se- 
vere at  this  time.  Counsellor  Du  Bourg,  a  gentle- 
man of  eminent  quality,  and  great  merit,  was  burnt 
for  heresy,  and  the  court  was  inclined,  not  only  to 
rid  France  of  protestantism,  but  Scotland  also,  and 
sent  La  Brosse  with  three  thousand  men  to  assist  the 
queen  of  Scotland  in  that  pious  design.  This  was 
frustrated  by  the  intervention  of  Queen  Elizabeth 
of  England.  The  persecution  becoming  every  day 
more  intolerable,  and  the  king  being  quite  inacces- 
sible to  the  remonstrances  of  his  people,  the  protest- 
ants held  several  consultations,  and  took  the  opin- 
ions of  their  ministers,  as  well  as  those  of  their  no- 
ble partizans,  on  the  question,  whether  it  were  law- 
ful to  take  up  arms  in  their  own  defence,  and  to 
make  way  for  a  free  access  to  the  king  to  present 


xxii     Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

their  petitions  ?  It  was  unanimously  resolved,  that 
it  was  lawful,  and  it  was  agreed,  that  a  certain  num- 
ber of  men  should  be  chosen,  who  should  go  on  a 
fixed  day,  under  the  direction  of  Lewis  prince  of 
Conde,  present  their  petition  to  the  king,  and  seize 
the  Duke  of  Guise,  and  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine, 
bis  brother,  in  order  to  have  them  tried  before  the 
states.  This  affair  was  discovered  to  the  Duke  by 
a  false  brother,  the  design  w^as  defeated,  and  twelve 
hundred  were  beheaded.  Guise  pretended  to  have 
suppressed  a  rebellion  that  was  designed  to  end  in 
the  dethroning  of  the  king,  and,  by  this  manoeuvre, 
be  procured  the  general  lieutenancy  of  the  king- 
dom, and  the  glorious  title  of  Conservator  of  his 
country.  He  pleased  the  puerile  king  by  placing  a 
few  gaudy  horse-guards  round  his  palace,  and  he 
infatuated  the  poor  child  to  think  himself  and  his 
kingdom  rich  and  happy,  w4iile  his  protestant  sub- 
jects lay  a  bleeding  through  all  his  realm. 

The  infinite  value  of  an  able  statesman,  in  such 
an  important  crisis  as  this,  might  here  be  exemplifi- 
ed in  the  conduct  of  Michael  de  L'Hospital,  who 
w^as  at  this  time  promoted  to  the  chancel- 
lorship :  but  our  limits  will  not  allow  an 
enlargement.  He  was  the  most  consummate  poli- 
tician that  France  ever  employed.  He  had  the 
wisdom  of  governing  without  the  folly  of  discov- 
ering it,  and  all  his  actions  were  guided  by  that 
cool  moderation,  w4iich  always  accompanies  a  su- 
perior knowledge  of  mankind.  He  was  a  conceal- 
ed protestant  of  the  most  liberal  sentiments,  an  en- 
tire friend  to  religious  liberty^  and  it  was  his  wise 
management  that  saved  France.    It  was  his  fixed 


'Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,     xxiii 

opinion,  that  free  toleration  was  sound  policy. 
We  must  not  wonder  that  rigid  papists  deemed  him 
an  atheist,  while  zealous,  but  mistaking  protestants, 
pictured  him  carrying  a  torch  behind  him,  to  guide 
others  but  not  himself.  The  more  a  man  resembles 
God,  the  more  will  his  conduct  be  censured  by  ig- 
norance, partiality,  and  pride ! 

The  Duke   of  Guise,    in   order  to    please  and 
strengthen  his  party,  endeavoured  to  establish  an 
inquisition  in  France.     The  chancellor,  being  wil- 
ling to  parry  a  thrust  which  he  could  not 
entirely  avoid,  was  forced  to  agree  to   a     1550'. 
severer  edict  than  he  could  have  wished,  to 
defeat  the  design.     By  this  edict,  the  cognizance  of 
the  crime  of  heresy  was  taken  from   the   secular 
judges,  and  given  to  the  bishops  alone.     The  Cal- 
vinists  complained  of  this,  because  it  put  them  into 
the  hands  of  their   enemies:    and   although   their 
Lordships  condemned  and  burnt  so  many  heretics, 
that  their  courts  were  justly  called  chamhres  arden- 
tes,^  yet  the  zealous  catholics  thought  them  less  eli- 
gible than  an  inquisition  after  the  manner  of  Spain. 

Soon  after  the  making  of  this  edict,  ma- 
ny families  having  been  ruined  by  it.  Ad-     i^^\ 
miral  Coligny  presented  a  petition  to  the 
king,  in  the  names  of  all  the  protestants  of  France, 
humbly  praying  that  they  might  be  allowed  the  free 
exercise  of  their  religion.     The  king  referred  the 
matter  to  the  parliament,  who  were  to  consult  about 
it  with  the  lords  of  his  council.     A  warm  debate  en- 
sued, and  the  catholics  carried  it  against  the  protest- 

*  Burning  courts,  fire  offices. 


xxiv    Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

ants  by  three  voices.  It  was  resolved,  that  people 
should  be  obliged,  either  to  conform  to  the  old  es- 
tablished church,  or  to  quit  the  kingdom,  with  per- 
mission to  sell  their  estates.  The  protestants  argu- 
ed, that  in  a  point  of  such  importance,  it  would  be 
unreasonable,  on  account  of  three  voices,  to  inflame 
all  France  with  animosity  and  war  :  that  the  meth- 
od of  banishment  was  impossible  to  be  executed : 
and  that  the  obliging  of  those,  who  continued  in 
France,  to  submit  to  the  Romish  religion,  against 
their  consciences,  was  an  absurd  attempt,  and  equal 
to  an  impossibility.  The  chancellor,  and  the  pro- 
testant  Lords,  used  every  effort  to  procure  a  tolera- 
tion, while  the  catholic  party  urged  the  necessity 
of  uniformity  in  religion.  At  length  two  of  the 
bishops  owned  the  necessity  of  reforming,  pleaded 
strenuously  for  moderate  measures,  and  proposed 
the  deciding;  of  these  controversies  in  an  assemblv 
of  the  states,  assisted  by  a  national  council,  to  be 
summoned  at  the  latter  end  of  the  year.  To  this 
proposal  the  assembly  agreed. 

The  court  of  Rome  having  laid  it  down  as  an  in- 
dubitable maxim  in  church  police,  that  an  inquisition 
was  the  only  support  of  the  hierarchy,  and  dreading 
the  consequences  of  allowing  a  nation  to  reform  it- 
self, was  alarmed  at  this  intelligence,  and  instantly 
sent  a  nuncio  into  France.  His  instructions  were  to 
prevent,  if  possible,  the  calling  of  a  national  council, 
and  to  promise  the  re-assembling  of  the  general  coun- 
cil of  Trent.  The  protestants  had  been  too  often 
dupes  to  such  artifices  as  these,  and,  being  fully  con- 
vinced of  the  futility  of  general  councils,  they  refu- 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,      xxv 

sed  to  submit  to  the  council  of  Trent  now  for  sever- 
al good  reasons.  The  pope,  they  said,  who  assem- 
bled the  council,  was  to  be  judge  in  his  own  cause: 
the  council  would  be  chiefly  composed  of  Italian 
bishops,  who  were  vassals  of  the  Pope,  as  a  secular 
prince,  and  sworn  to  him  as  a  bishop  and  head  of  the 
church  :  the  legates  would  pack  a  majority,  and  bribe 
the  poor  bishops  to  vote  :  each  article  would  be  first 
settled  at  Rome,  and  then  proposed  by  the  legates 
to  the  council :  the  Emperor,  by  advice  of  the  late 
council  of  Constance,  had  given  a  safe  conduct  to 
John  Huss,  and  to  Jerom  of  Prague,  however,  when 
they  appeared  in  the  council,  and  proposed  their 
doubts,  the  council  condenmed  them  to  be  burnt. 
The  protestants  had  reason  on  their  side,  when  they 
rejected  this  method  of  reforming,  for  the  art  of  pro- 
curing a  majority  of  votes  is  the  soul  of  this  system 
of  church-government.  This  art  consists  in  the  in- 
genuity of  finding  out,  and  in  the  dexterity  of  ad- 
dressing each  man's  weak  side,  his  pride  or  his  io-- 
norance,  his  envy,  his  gravity,  or  his  avarice :  and 
the  possessing  of  this  is  the  perfection  of  a  Legate  of 
Rome. 

During  these   disputes,    the    king  died 
without  issue,  and  his  brother  Charles  IX.     iseof 
who  was  in  the  eleventh  vear  of  his  asfe, 
succeeded  him.    The  States  met  at  the  time     ^^* 
proposed.    The  chancellor  opened  the  session  by 
an  unanswerable  speech  on  the  ill  policy  of  persecu- 
tion, he  represented  the  miseries  of  the  protestants, 
and  proposed  an  abatement  of  their  sufferings,  till 
their  complaints  could  be  heard  in  a  national  coun- 

TQL.   I,  4 


xxvi     Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 

cil.  The  Prince  of  Conde  and  the  King  of  Navar- 
re were  the  heads  of  the  protestant  party,  the  Gui- 
ses were  the  headsof  their  opponents,  and  the  queen 
mother,  Catharine  de  Medicis,  who  had  obtained 
the  regency  till  the  king's  majority,  and  who  began 
to  dread  the  power  of  the  Guises,  leaned  to  the  pro- 
testants,  which  w^as  a  grand  event  in  their  favor. 
After  repeated  meetings,  and  various  warm  debates, 
it  was  agreed,  as  one  side  would  not  submit  to  a 
general  council,  nor  the  other  to  a  national  assem- 
bly, that  a  conference  should  be  held  at  Poissy,  be- 
tween both  parties,  and  an  edict  was  made, 

i^eV.  that  no  persons  should  molest  the  protest- 
ants,  that  the  imprisoned  should  be  releas- 

1561.    ed,  and  the  exiles  called  home. 

The  conference  at  Poissy  was  held,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  king,  the  princes  of  the  blood,  the  no- 
bility, cardinals,  prelates,  and  grandees  of  both  par- 
ties. On  the  popish  side,  six  cardinals,  four  bishops, 
and  several  dignified  clergymen,  and  on  the  pro- 
testant about  twelve  of  the  most  famous  reformed 
ministers,  managed  the  dispute.  Beza,  who  spoke 
well,  knew  the  world,  and  had  a  ready  wit,  and  a 
deal  of  learning,  displayed  all  his  powers  in  favor 
of  the  reformation.  The  papists  reasoned  where 
they  could,  and  where  they  could  not  they  railed. 
The  conference  ended  where  most  public 

Sept.  29.  . 

disputes  have  ended,  that  is,  where  they  be- 
gan ;  for  great  men  never  enter  these  lists,  without 
a  previous  determination  not  to  submit  to  the  dis- 
grace of  a  public  defeat. 


Memoirs  of  the  Heformalion  in  France,    xxvii 

At  the  close  of  the  last  reign,  the  ruin  of  protest- 
antism seemed  inevitable:  but  now  the  reformation 
turned  like  a  tide,  overspread  every  place,  and  seem- 
ed to  roll  away  all  opposition,  and,  in  all  probabil- 
ity, had  it  not  been  for  one  sad  event,  it  would  now 
have  subverted  popery  in  this  kingdom.  The  king 
of  Navarre,  who  was  now  lieutenant  general  of 
France,  had  hitherto  been  a  zealous  protestant,  he 
Lad  taken  incredible  pains  to  support  the  reforma- 
tion, and  had  assured  the  Danish  ambassador  that, 
in  a  year's  time,  he  would  cause  the  true  gospel  to 
be  preached  throughout  France.  The  Guises  ca- 
balled with  the  pope  and  tlie  king  of  Spain,  and 
they  offered  to  invest  the  king  of  Navarre  with  the 
iingdom  of  Sardinia,  and  to  restore  to  him  that  part 
of  the  kingdom  of  Navarre,  which  lay  in  Spain,  on 
condition  of  his  renouncing  protestantism.  The 
lure  w^as  tempting,  and  the  king  deserted,  and  even 
persecuted  the  protestants.  Providence  is  never  at 
a  loss  for  means  to  ,effect  its  designs.  The  queen 
of  Navarre,  daughter  of  the  last  queen,  who  had 
hitherto  preferred  a  dance  to  a  sermon,  was  shock- 
ed at  the  king's  conduct,  and  instantly  became  a 
zealous  protestant  herself.  She  met  wdth  some  un- 
kind treatment,  but  nothing  could  shake  her  resolu- 
tion ;  Had  I,  said  she,  the  kingdoms  in  m,y  hand,  I 
would  throw  them  into  the  sea,  rather  than  defile  iny 
conscience  by  going  to  mass.  This  courageous  pro- 
fession saved  her  a  deal  of  trouble  and  dispute  I 

The  protestants  began  now  to  appear  more  pub- 
licly than  before.  The  queen  of  Navarre  caused 
Beza  openly  to  solemnize  a  marriage  in  a  noble  fam- 


xxviii    Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

ily,  after  the  Geneva  manner.  This,  which  was  con- 
summated near  the  court,  emboldened  the  ministers, 
and  they  preached  at  the  countess  de  Senignan's, 
guarded  by  the  marshal's  provosts.  The  nobility 
thouo^ht  that  the  common  people  had  as  good  a  right 
to  hear  the  gospel  as  themselves,  and  caused  the  re- 
formed clergy  to  preach  without  the  walls  of  Paris. 
Their  auditors  were  thirty,  or  forty  thousand  peo- 
ple, divided  into  three  companies,  the  women  in  the 
middle,  surrounded  by  men  on  foot,  and  the  latter 
by  men  on  horseback  ;  and  during  the  sermon,  the 
governor  of  Paris  placed  soldiers  to  guard  the  ave- 
nues, and  to  prevent  disturbances.  The  morality  of 
this  worship  cannot  be  disputed,  for  if  God  be  wor- 
shipped in  spirit  and  in  truth,  the  place  is  indiffer- 
ent. The  expediency  of  it  may  be  doubted:  but, 
in  a  persecution  of  forty  years,  the  French  protest- 
ants  had  learnt  that  their  political  masters  did  not 
consider  how  rational,  but  how  formidable  they 
were. 

The  Guises,  and  their  associates,  being  quite  dis- 
pirited, retired  to  their  estates,  and  the  queen  re- 
gent, by  the  chancellor's  advice,  granted  an  edict  to 
enable  the  protestants  to  preach  in  all  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  except  in  Paris,  and  in  other  walled  cities. 
The  parliaments  of  France  had  then  the  power  of 
refusing  to  register  royal  edicts,  and  the  chancellor 
had  occasion  for  all  his  address,  to  prevail  over  the 
scruples  and  ill  humor  of  the  parliament  to  procure 
the  registering  of  this.  He  begged  leave  to  say, 
that  the  question  before  them  was  one  of  those 
which  had  its  difficulties,  on  whatever  side  it  wae 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,     xxix 

viewed  :  that  in  the  present  case,  one,  of  two  things, 
must  be  chosen,  either  to  put  all  the  adherents  of 
the  new  religion  to  the  sword ;  or  to  banish  them 
entirely,  allowing  thenn  to  dispose  of  their  effects ; 
that  the  first  point  could  not  be  executed,  since  tliat 
party  was  too  strong  both  in  leaders  and  partizans ; 
and  tho'  it  could  be  done,  yet  as  it  was  staining  the 
king's  youth  with  the  blood  of  so  many  of  his  sul> 
jects,  perhaps  when  he  came  to  age,  he  would  de- 
mand it  at  the  hands  of  his  governors  ;  with  regard 
to  the  second  point,  it  was  as   little   feasible,  and 
could  it  be  effected,  it  would  be  raising  as  many 
desperate  enemies  as  exiles:  that  to  enforce  con- 
formity against  conscience,  as  matters  stood  now, 
was  to  lead  the  people  to  atheism.     The   edict  at 
last  was  passed,  but  the  house  registered  it 
with  this  clause,  in  consideration  of  the  pre-     1552. 
sent  juncture  of  the  times :  hut  not  approv- 
ing of  the  new  religion  in  any  manner,  and  till  the 
king  shall  otherwise  appoint.     So  hard  sat  toleration 
on  the  minds  of  papists. 

A  minority  was  a  period  favorable  to  the  views 
of  the  Guises,  and  this  edict  was  a  happy  occasion 
of  a  pretence  for  commencing  hostilities.  The 
Duke,  instigated  by  his  mother,  went  to  Yassi,  a 
town  adjacent  to  one  of  his  lordships,  and,  some 
of  his  retinue  picking  a  quarrel  with  some  protest- 
ants,  who  were  hearing  a  sermon  in  a  barn,  he  in- 
terested himself  in  it,  wounded  two  hundred,  and 
left  sixty  dead  on  the  spot.  This  was  the 
first  protestant  blood,  that  was  shed  in  civ-  1562. 
il  war. 


XXX    Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

The  news  of  this  afFau'  flew  like  lightning,  and, 
while  the  Duke  was  marching  to  Paris  with  a  thou- 
sand horse,  the  city,  and  the  provinces  rose  in  arms. 
The  chancellor  was  extremely  afflicted  to  see  both 
sides  preparing  for  war,  and  endeavored  to  dissuade 
them  from  it.  The  constable  told  him,  it  did  not 
belong  to  men  of  the  long  robe,  to  give  their  judgment 
nith  relation  to  war.  To  which  he  answered,  that 
though  he  did  not  bear  arms,  he  knew  when  they  ought 
to  be  used.  After  this,  they  excluded  him  from  the 
councils  of  war. 

The  queen-regent,  alarmed  at  the  Duke's  ap- 
proach to  Paris,  threw  herself  into  the  hands  of  the 
Protestants,  and  ordered  Conde  to  take  up 

isel.  arms.  War  began,  and  barbarities  and  cru- 
elties were  practised  on  both  sides.  The 
Duke  of  Guise  was  assassinated,  the  king  of  Na- 
varre w  as  killed  at  a  siege,  fifty  thousand  protest- 
ants  were  slain,  and,  after  a  year  had  been  spent  in 
these  confusions,  a  peace  was  concluded. 
All  that  the  protestants  obtained,  w^as  an 
edict  which  excluded  the  exercise  of  their  religion 
from  cities,  and  restrained  it  to  their  own  families. 

Peace  did  not  continue  long,  for  the  protestants, 
having  received  intelligence,  that  the  Pope,  the 
house  of  Austria,  and  the  house  of  Guise,  had  con- 
spired their  ruin,  and  fearing  that  the  king,  and 
the  court,  were  inclined  to  crush  them,  as  their 
rights  were  every  day  infringed  by  new  edicts,  took 
up  arms  aoain  in  their  own  defence.  The 
city  of  Rochelle  declared  for  them,  and  it 
served  them  for  an  asylum  for  sixty  years.    They 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,    xxxi 

were  assisted  by  Queen  Elizabeth  of  England,  and 
by  the  German  princes,  and  they  obtained,  at  the 
conclusion  of  this  second  war,  the  revoca-     ,  ^^ 

,  1568. 

lion  of  all  penal  edicts,  the  exercise  of  their 
religion  in  their  families,  and  the  grant  of  six  cities 
for  their  security. 

The  pope,  the  king  of  Spain,  and  the  Guises, 
finding  that  they  could  not  prevail  while  the  wise 
chancellor  retained  his  influence,  formed  a 
cabal  against  him,  and  got  him  removed.  1558* 
He  resigned  very  readily,  and  retired  to  a 
country  seat,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days.  A  strange  confusion  followed  in  the  direct- 
ion of  affairs,  one  edict  allowed  liberty,  another 
forbad  it,  and  it  was  plain  to  the  protestants  that 
their  situation  was  very  delicate  and  dangerous. 
The  articles  of  the  last  peace  had  never  been  per- 
formed, and  the  papists  every  where  insulted  their 
liberties,  so  that,  in  three  months  time,  two  thou- 
sand Hugonots  were  murdered,  and  the  murderers 
went  unpunished.  War  broke  out  again. 
Queen  Elizabeth  assisted  the  protestants 
with  money,  the  Count  Palatine  helped  them  with 
men,  the  Queen  of  Navarre  parted  with  her  rings 
and  jewels  to  support  them,  and,  the  Prince  of  Con- 
de  being  slain,  she  declared  her  son,  prince  Henry, 
the  head,  and  protector  of  the  protestant  cause,  and 
caused  medals  to  be  struck  with  these  words  a  safe 
peace,  a  complete  victory,  a  glorious  death.  Her  majes- 
ty did  every  thing  in  her  power  for  the  advancement 
of  religious  liberty,  and  she  used  to  say,  that  liber- 
ty  of  conscience  ought  to  be  preferred  before  honors, 


xxxii   Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

dignilics,  and  life  itself.  She  caused  the  New  Tes^ 
tament,  the  catechism,  and  the  liturgy  of  Geneva, 
to  be  translated,  and  printed  at  Rochelle.  She 
abolished  popery,  and  established  protestantism  in 
her  own  dominions.  In  her  leisure  hours,  she  ex- 
pressed her  zeal  by  working  tapestries  with  her 
own  hands,  in  which  she  represented  the  monuments 
of  that  liberty,  which  she  procured  by  shaking  off 
the  yoke  of  the  Pope.  One  suit  consisted  of  twelve 
pieces.  On  each  piece  was  represented  some  scrip- 
ture history  of  deliverance ;  Israel  coming  out  of 
Egypt,  Joseph's  release  from  prison,  or  something 
of  the  like  kind.  On  the  top  of  each  piece  were 
these  words,  rvhere  the  spirit  is  there  is  liberty,  and 
in  the  corners  of  each  were  broken  chains,  fetters, 
and  gibbets.  One  piece  represented  a  congregation 
at  JMass,  and  a  fox,  in  a  friar's  habit,  officiating  as 
a  priest,  grinning  horribly  and  saying,  the  Lord  be 
with  you.  The  pieces  were  fashionable  patterns, 
and  dexterously  directed  the  needles  of  the  ladies 
to  help  forward  the  reformation. 

After  many  negotiations  a  peace  was  con- 
cluded, and  the  free  exercise  of  religion 
was  allowed  in  all  but  walled  cities,  two  cities  in 
every  province  were  assigned  to  the  protestants ; 
they  were  to  be  admitted  into  all  universities, 
schools,  hospitals,  public  offices,  royal,  seignioral, 
and  corporate,  and,  to  render  the  peace  of  ever- 
lasting duration,  a  match  was  proposed  between 
Henry  of  Navarre,  and  the  sister  of  king  Charles. 
These  articles  were  accepted,  the  match  was  agreed 
^o,  every  man's  sword  was  put  up  in  its  sheath,  and 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,    xxxiii 

Ihe  Queen  of  Navarre,  her  son,  King  Henry,  the 
princes  of  the  blood,  and  the  principal  pro- 
testants,  went  to  Paris  to  celebrate  the  mar-     1572. 
riage.      A  few  days  after  the  marriage,  the 
Admu'al,  who  was  one  of  the  principal  protestant 
leaders,  was   assassinated.      This  alarmed  ^^^    ^2 
the  king  of  Navarre,    and  the  prince  of 
Conde,  but,  the  king  and  his  mother  promising  to 
punish  the  assassin,  they  were  quiet.     The  *   ^  9. 
next  Sunday,  being  S.  Bartholomew's  day, 
w  hen  the  bells  rang  for  morning  prayers,  the  Duke 
of  Guise,  brother  of  the  last,  appeared  with  a  great 
number  of  soldiers,  and  citizens,  and  began  to  mur- 
der the  Hugonots,  the  w  retched  Charles  appeared 
at  the  w  indows  of  his  palace,  and  endeavored  to 
shoot  those  w^ho  fled,  crying  to  their  pursuers,  Kill 
them,    kill  them.      The   massacre   continued  seven 
days,   seven  hundred  houses  were   pillaged  ;    five 
thousand  people  perished  in  Paris,  neither  age,  nor 
sex,  nor  even  women  with  child  were  spared  ;  one 
butcher  boasted  to  the  king  that  he  had  hewn  down 
a  hundred  and  fifty  in  one  night.      The  rage  ran 
from  Paris  to  the  provinces,  where  twenty  five  thou- 
sand more  w^ere  cruelly  slain ;    the  Queen  of  Na- 
varre was  poisoned  ;   and,  during  the  massacre,  the 
king  offered  the  king  of  Navarre,  and  the  young 
prince  of  Conde,  son  of  the  late  prince,    if  they 
would  not  renounce  Hugonotism,  either  death,  mass, 
or  hastile :   for,  he  said,  he  would  not  have  one  left 
to  reproach  him.      This  bloody  affair  does  not  lie 
betw  een  Charles  IX.  his  mother,  Catharine  of  Me- 
dicis,  and  the  Duke  of  Guise  ;   for  the  church  of 
VOL.  I,  5 


xxxiv     3Iemoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 

Rome,  and  the  court  of  Spain,  by  exhibiting  pub- 
lic rejoicings  on  the  occasion,  have  adopted  it  for 
their  own,  or,  at  least,  have  claimed  a  share. 

Would  any  one  after  this  propose  passive  obedi- 
ence, and  non-resistance,  to  French  protestants  ? 
Or  can  we  wonder,  that,  abhorring  a  church,  who 
offered  to  embrace  them  with  hands  reeking  with 
the  blood  of  then'  brethren,  they  put  on  their  ar- 
mor again,  and  commenced  a  fourth  civil  war  ?  The 
late  massacre  raised  up  also  another  party,  called 
Politicians,  who  proposed  to  banish  the  family  of 
Guise  from  France,  to  remove  the  queen  mother, 
and  the  Italians,  from  the  government,  and  to  re- 
store peace  to  the  nation.  This  faction  was  headed 
by  Montmorenci,  who  had  an  eye  to  the  crown. 
During  these  troubles,  the  king  died,  in 
the  twenty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  Charles 
had  a  lively  little  genius,  he  composed  a  book  on 
hunting,  and  valued  himself  on  his  skill  in  physi- 
ognomy. He  thought  courage  consisted  in  swear- 
ing and  taunting  at  his  courtiers.  His  diversions 
were  hunting,  music,  women,  and  wine.  His  court 
was  a  common  sewer  of  luxury  and  impiety,  and, 
while  his  favorites  were  fleecing  his  people,  he  em- 
ployed himself  in  the  making  of  rhymes.  The 
part  which  he  acted  in  the  Bartholomean  tragedy, 
the  worst  crime  that  was  ever  perpetrated  in  any 
Christian  country,  will  mark  his  reign  with  infamy, 
to  the  end  of  time. 

Henry  HI.  who  succeeded  his  brother  Charles, 
w^as  first  despised,  and  then  hated,  by  all  his  sub- 
jects.   He  was  so  proud  that  he  set  rails  round  his 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,     xxxv 

table,  and  affected  the  pomp  of  an  eastern  king : 
and  so  mean  that  he  often  walked  in  procession  with 
a  beggarly  brotherhood,  with  a  string  of  beads  in 
his  hand,  and  a  whip  at  his  girdle.  He  was  so  cred-i 
idous  that  he  took  the  sacrament  with  the  Duke  of 
Guise,  and  with  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine,  his  broth- 
er ;  and  so  treacherous  that  he  caused  the  assassina- 
tion of  them  both.  He  boasted  being  a  chief  advis- 
er of  the  late  massacre,  and  the  protestants  abhor- 
red him  for  it.  The  papists  hated  him  for  his  ad- 
herence to  the  Hugonot  house  of  Bourbon,  and  for 
the  edicts  which  he  sometimes  granted  in  favor  of 
the  protestants,  though  his  only  aim  was  to  weaken 
the  Guises.  The  Ladies  held  him  in  execration  for 
his  unnatural  practices :  and  the  dutchess  of  Mont- 
pensier  talked  of  clipping  his  hair,  and  of  making 
him  a  monk.  His  heavy  taxes,  which  were  con- 
sumed by  his  favorites,  excited  the  populace  against 
him,  and,  while  his  kingdom  was  covered  with  car- 
nage, and  drenching  in  blood,  he  was  training  lap- 
dogs  to  tumble,  and  parrots  to  prate. 

In  this  reign  was  formed  the  famous  league,  which 
reduced  France  to  the  most  miserable  condition  that 
could  be.  The  chief  promoter  of  it  was  the  duke 
of  Guise.  The  pretence  was  the  preservation  of 
the  catholic  religion.  The  chief  articJes  were  three. 
*'  The  defence  of  the  catholic  relioion.  The  estab- 
lishment  of  Henry  HL  on  the  throne.  The  main- 
taining of  the  liberty  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  as- 
sembling of  the  states."  Those  who  entered  into 
the  league,  promised  to  obey  such  a  General  as 
should  be  chosen  for  the  defence  of  it,  and  the 


xxxvi  3Icmoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 

Tviiole  was  confirmed  by  oath.  The  weak  Henry 
subscribed  it  at  first  in  hopes  of  subduing  the  Hu- 
gonots  ;  the  queen  mother,  the  Guises,  the  pope, 
the  king  of  Spain,  many  of  the  clergy,  and  multi- 
tudes of  the  people  became  leaguers.  When  Hen- 
ry perceived  that  Guise  was  aiming  by  this  league 
to  dethrone  him,  he  favored  the  protestants,  and 
they  obtained  an  edict  for  the  free  exercise 
^  ^'  of  their  religion:  but  edicts  were  vain 
things  against  the  power  of  the  league,  and  three 
civil  wars  raged  in  this  reign. 

Guise's  pretended  zeal  for  the  Romish  religion 
allured  the  clergy,  and  France  was  filled  with  sedi- 
tious books  and  sermons.  The  preachers  of  the 
league  were  the  most  furious  of  all  sermon-mongers. 
They  preached  up  the  excellency  of  the  established 
church,  the  necessity  of  uniformity,  the  horror  of 
Hugonotism,  the  merit  of  killing  the  tyrant  on  the 
throne,  (for  so  they  called  the  king)  the  genealogy 
of  the  house  of  Guise,  and  every  thing  else  that 
could  inflame  the  madness  of  party-rage.  It  is  not 
enough  to  say  that  these  abandoned  clergymen  dis- 
graced their  oflfice,  truth  obliges  us  to  add,  they 
were  protected,  and  preferred  to  dignities  in  the 
church,  both  in  France  and  Spain. 

The  nearer  the  Guises  approached  to  the  crown, 
the  more  were  they  inflamed  at  the  sight  of  it. 
They  obliged  the  king  to  forbid  the  exercise  of  the 
protestant  religion.  They  endeavored  to  exclude 
the  king  of  Navarre,  who  was  now  the  next  heir  to 
the  throne,  from  the  succession.  They  began  to  act 
so  haughtil}'  that  Henry  caused  the  Duke  and  the 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,  xxxvii 

Cardinal  to  be  assassinated.     The  next  year  lie  him- 
self was  assassinated  by  a  friar.     Reliijion 
flourishes  where  nothing  else  can  grow,  and 
the  reformation  spread  more  and  more  in     ^^^^• 
this  reign.     The  exiles  at  Geneva  filled  France  with 
a  new  translation  of  the  bible,  with  books,  letters, 
catechisms,  hymns,  and  preachers,  and  the  people, 
contrasting  the  religion  of  Christ  with  the  religion 
of  Rome,  entertained  a  most  serious  aversion  for  the 
latter. 

In  the  last  king  ended  the  family  of  Yalois,  and 
the  next  heir  was  Henry  IV,  of  the  house  of  Bour- 
bon, king  of  Navarre.  His  majesty  had  been  edu- 
cated a  protestant,  and  had  been  the  protector  of 
the  party,  and  the  protestants  had  reason  to  expect 
much  from  him  on  his  ascending  the  throne  of 
France :  but  he  had  many  difficulties  to  surmount, 
for  could  the  men  who  would  not  bear  a  Hugonot 
subject,  bear  a  Hugonot  king  ?  Some  of  the  old  fac- 
tion disputed  his  title,  and  all  insisted  on  a  christian 
king.  Henry  had  for  him,  on  the  one  side,  almost 
all  the  nobility,  the  w  hole  court  of  the  late  king,  all 
protestant  states,  and  princes,  and  the  old  Hugonot 
troops :  on  the  other,  he  had  against  him,  the  com- 
mon people,  most  of  the  great  cities,  all  the  par- 
liaments except  two,  the  greatest  part  of  the  clergy, 
the  pope,  the  king  of  Spain,  and  most  catholic  states. 
Four  years  his  majesty  deliberated,  negociated,  and 
fought,  but  could  not  gain  Paris.  At  length,  the 
league  set  up  a  king  of  the  house  of  Guise,  and 
Henry  found  that  the  throne  was  inaccessible  to  all 
but  papists,  he  therefore  renounced  heresy  before 


XXXV iii  Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

Dr.  Benoit,  a  moderate  papist,  and  professed  bis 
conversion  to  popery.  Paris  opened  its  gates,  the 
pope  sent  an  absolution,  and  Henry  became  a  most 
christian  king.  Every  man  may  rejoice  that  his 
virtue  is  not  put  to  the  trial  of  refusing  a  crown ! 

When  bis  majesty  got  to  his  palace  in  Paris,  he 
thought  proper  to  conciliate  his  new  friends  by 
shewing  them  particular  esteem,  and  played  at 
cards  the  first  evening  with  a  lady  of  the  house  of 
Guise,  the  most  violent  leaguer  in  all  the  party. 
His  old  servants,  who  had  shed  rivers  of  blood  to 
bring  the  house  of  Bourbon  to  the  throne,  thought 
themselves  neglected.  While  the  protestants  were 
slighted,  and  while  those,  who  had  followed  the 
league,  were  disengaging  themselves  from  it  on  ad- 
vantageous conditions,  one  of  the  king's  old  friends 
said,  "We  do  not  envy  your  killing  the  fatted 
calf  for  the  prodigal  son,  provided  you  do  not  sa- 
crifice the  obedient  son  to  make  the  better  enter- 
tainment for  the  prodigal.  I  dread  those  bargains, 
in  which  things  are  given  up,  and  nothing  got  but 
mere  words ;  the  words  of  those  who  hitherto  have 
had  no  words  at  all." 

By  ascending  the  throne  of  France,  Henry  had 
risen  to  the  highest  degree  of  wretchedness.  He 
had  offered  violence  to  his  conscience  by  embracing 
popery,  he  had  stirred  up  a  general  discontent  a- 
mong  the  French  protestants,  the  queen  of  England, 
and  the  protestant  states,  reproached  hitn  bitterly, 
the  league  refused  to  acknowledge  him  till  the  pope 
had  absolved  him  in  form,  the  king  of  Spain  cabal- 
led for  the  crown,  several  cities  heldout  against  him, 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,  xxxix 

many  of  the  clergy  thought  him  an  hypocrite,  and 
refused  to  insert  his  name  in  the  public  prayers  of 
the  church,  the  lawyers  published  libels  against  him, 
the  Jesuits  threatened  to  assassinate  him,  and  actu- 
ally attempted  to  do  it.  In  this  delicate  and  diffi- 
cult situation,  though  his  majesty  manifested  the 
frailty  of  humanity  by  renouncing  protestantism, 
yet  he  extricated  himself  and  his  subjects  from  the 
fatal  labyrinths  in  which  they  were  all  involved,  so 
that  he  deservedly  acquired  from  his  enemies  the 
epithet  Great,  though  his  friends  durst  not  give 
him  that  of  Good. 

The  king  had  been  so  well  acquainted  with  the 
protestants,  that  he  perfectly  knew  their  principles, 
and,  could  he  have  acted  as  he  would,  he  would 
have  instantly  granted  them  all  that  they  w^anted. 
Their  enemies  had  falsely  said,  that  they  were  ene- 
mies to  government:  but  the  king  knew  better, 
and  he  also  knew  that  the  claims  of  his  family  w  ould 
have  been  long  ago  buried  in  oblivion,  had  not  the 
protestants  supported  them.  Marshal  Biron  had 
been  one  chief  instrument  of  bringing  him  to  the 
throne.  The  Marshal  was  not  a  good  Hugonot,  nor 
did  he  profess  to  be  a  papist :  but  he  espoused  the 
protestant  party,  for  he  was  a  man  of  great  sense, 
and  he  hated  violence  in  religion ;  and  there  were 
many  more  of  the  same  cast.  Parties,  however,  ran 
so  high  that  precipitancy  would  have  lost  all,  and 
Henry  was  obliged  to  proceed  by  slow  and  cautious 
steps. 

The  deputies  of  the  reformed  churches,  soon 
waited  on  his  majesty  to  congratulate  him,  and  to 


xl        Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

pray  for  liberty.  The  king  allowed  them  to  hold  a 
general  assembly,  and  offered  them  some  slight  sat- 
isfaction :  but  the  hardy  veteran  Hugonots,  who  had 
spent  their  days  in  the  field,  and  who  knew  also 
that  persons,  who  were  of  approved  fidelity,  might 
venture  to  give  the  king  their  advice  without  an- 
gering him,  took  the  liberty  of  reminding  him  that 
they  would  not  be  paid  in  compliments  for  so  many 
signal  services.  Their  ancestors  and  they  had  sup- 
ported his  right  to  the  crown,  along  with  their  own 
right  to  liberty  of  conscience,  and  as  Providence  had 
granted  the  one,  they  expected  that  the  other  would 
not  be  denied.  The  king  felt  the  force  of  these  re- 
monstrances, and  ventured  to  allow  them  to  hold 
provincial  assemblies ;  after  a  while,  to  convene  a 
national  synod,  and,  as  soon  as  he  could,  he  grant- 
ed them  the  famous  Edict  of  Nantz. 
The  Edict  of  Nantz,  which  was  called 
perpetual,  and  irrevocahle,  and  which  contained  nine- 
ty two  articles,  beside  fifty  six  secret  articles,  grant- 
ed to  the  protestants  liberty  of  conscience,  and  the 
free  exercise  of  religion  ;  many  churches  in  all  parts 
of  France,  and  judges  of  their  own  persuasion;  a 
free  access  to  all  places  of  honor  and  dignity  ;  great 
sums  of  money  to  pay  off  their  troops ;  an  hundred 
places  as  pledges  of  their  future  security,  and  cer- 
tain funds  to  maintain  both  their  preachers  and  their 
garrisons.  The  king  did  not  send  this  edict  to  be 
registered  in  parliament,  till  the  Pope's  legate  was 
gone  out  of  the  kingdom,  so  that  it  did  not  get  there 
till  the  next  year.  Some  of  the  old  party  in  the 
house  boggled  at  it  very  much,  and  particularly  be- 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France.      xli 

cause  the  Hugonots  were  hereby  qualified  for  offi- 
ces, and  places  of  trust :  but  his  majesty  sent  for 
some  of  the  chiefs  to  his  closet,  made  them  a  most 
pathetic  speech  on  the  occasion,  and,  with  some  dif- 
ficulty, brought  them  to  a  compliance.  It  is  easy 
to  conceive  that  the  king  might  be  very  pathetic  on 
this  occasion,  for  he  had  seen  and  suffered  enough 
to  make  any  man  so.  The  meanest  Hugonot  sol- 
dier could  not  avoid  the  pathos,  if  he  related  his 
campaigns.  But  it  is  very  credible,  that  it  was  not 
the  pathos  of  his  majesty's  language,  but  the  power 
in  his  hand,  that  afferted  these  intolerant  souls. 

No  nation  ever  made  a  more  noble  struggle,  for 
recovering  liberty  of  conscience  out  of  the  rapacious 
hands  of  the  Papal  priesthood,  than  the  French. 
And  one  may  venture  to  defy  the  most  sanguine 
friend  to  intolerance  to  prove,  that  a  free  toleration 
hath,  in  any  country,  at  any  period,  produced  such 
calamities  in  society  as  those  which  persecution 
produced  in  France. '  After  a  million  of  brave  men 
had  been  destroyed,  after  nine  civil  wars,  after  four 
pitched  battles,  after  the  besieging  of  several  hun- 
dred places,  after  more  than  three  hundred  engage- 
ments, after  poisoning,  burning,  assassinating,  massa- 
creing,  murdering  in  every  form,  France  is  forced 
to  submit  to  what  her  wise  Chancellor  de  L'Hospi- 
tal  had  at  first  proposed,  a  free  toleration.  Most 
of  the  zealous  leaguers  voted  for  it,  because  thei/ 
had  found  by  experience^  they  said,  that  violent  pro- 
ceedings  in  matters  of  religion  prove  more  destructive 
than  edifying,  A  noble  testimony  from  enemies' 
mouths ! 

TOL.   I.  6 


xlii     Memoirs  of  the  Heformation  in  France. 

France  now  be^an  to  taste  the  sweets  of  peace, 
the  king  employed  himself  in  making  his  subjects 
happy,  and  the  far  greater  part  of  his  subjects,  en- 
deavored to  render  him  so.  The  protestants  appli- 
ed themselves  to  the  care  of  their  churches,  and,  as 
they  had  at  this  time  a  great  many  able  ministers, 
they  flourished,  and  increased  the  remaining  part  of 
this  reign.  The  doctrine  of  their  churches  was  Cal- 
vinism, and  their  discipline  was  presbyterian,  after 
the  Geneva  plan.  Their  churches  were  supplied  by 
able  pastors;  their  universities  were  adorned  with 
learned  and  pious  professors,  such  as  Casaubon, 
Daille,  and  otliers,  whose  praises  are  in  all  the  re- 
formed churches ;  their  provincial,  and  national  sy- 
nods were  regularly  convened,  and  their  people 
were  well  governed.  Much  pains  were  taken  with 
the  king  to  alienate  his  mind  from  his  piotestant 
subjects  :  but  no  motives  could  influence  him.  He 
kneiv  the  worth  of  the  men,  and  he  protected  them 
till  his  death.     This  great  prince  was  ha- 

16^10.  '  t^d  by  the  Popish  clergy  for  his  lenity,  and 
was  stabbed  in  his  coach  by  the  execrable 
Ravillac,  whose  name  inspires  one  with  horror  and 
pain. 

Lewis  XIII.  was  not  quite  nine  years  of  age, 
w^hen  he  succeeded  his  father  Heiny.  The  first  act 
of  the  queen  mother,  who  had  the  regency  during 
the  king's  minority,  was  the  confirmation  of  the 
edict  of  Nantz.  Lewis  confirmed  it  again  at  his  ma- 
jority, promising  to  observe  it  inviolably* 
The  protestants  deserved  a  confirmation  of 
their  privileges  at  his  hands ;  for  they  had  taken  no 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformalion  in  France.      xliii 

part  in  the  civil  wars  and  disturbances  which  trou- 
bled his  minority.  They  had  been  earnestly  solicit- 
ed to  intermeddle  with  government:  but  ihey  had 
wisely  avoided  it. 

Lewis  was  a  weak  ambitious  man,  he  was  jealous 
of  his  power  to  excess,  though  he  did  not  know 
wherein  it  consisted.  He  was  so  void  of  prudence, 
that  he  could  not  help  exalting  his  flatterers  into  fa- 
vorites, and  his  favorites  into  excessive  power.  He 
was  so  timorous  that  his  favorites  became  the  ob- 
jects of  his  hatred,  the  moment  after  he  had  elevated 
them  to  authority :  and  he  was  so  callous  that  he 
never  lamented  a  favorite's  death  or  downfall.  By 
a  solemn  act  of  devotion,  attended  with  all  the  farce 
of  pictures,  masses,  processions,  and  festivals,  he 
consecrated  his  person,  his  dominions,  his  crown  and 
his  subjects  to  the  Yirgin  Mary,  desiring  her  to  de- 
fend his  kingdom,  and  to  inspire  him  with 
grace  to  lead  a  holy  life.  The  Popish  cler- 
gy adored  him  for  thus  sanctifying  their  supersti- 
tions by  his  example,  and  he,  in  return,  lent  them 
his  power  to  punish  his  protestant  subjects,  whom 
he  hated.  His  panegyrists  call  him  Lewis  the  just: 
but  they  ought  to  acknowledge  that  his  majesty  did 
nothing  to  merit  the  title,  till  he  found  himself 
a-dying. 

Lewis's  prime  minister  was  an  ?.rtful,  enterprizing 
clergyman,  who,  before  his  elevation,  w^as  a  country 
bishop,  and,  after  it,  was  known  by  the  title  of  Car- 
dinal de  Richlieu :  but  the  most  proper  title  for  his 
eminence  is  that,  which  some  liistorians  give  him,  of 
the  Jupiter  Mactator  of  France.    He  was  a  man  of 


xliv      Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

great  ability :  but  of  no  merit.  Had  his  virtue  been 
as  great  as  his  capacity,  he  ought  not  to  have  been 
intrusted  with  government,  because  all  Cardinals 
take  an  oath  to  the  Pope,  and  although  an  oath  does 
not  bind  a  bad  man,  yet  as  the  taking  of  it  gives 
liim  credit,  so  the  breach  of  it  ruins  all  his  prospects 
amono-  those  with  whom  he  hath  taken  it. 

The  Jesuits,  w  ho  had  been  banished  from 
1604     France,  for  attempting  the  life  of  Henry 

IV,  had  been  recalled,  and  restored  to  their 
houses,  and  one  of  their  society,  under  pretence  of 
being  responsible,  as  an  hostage,  for  the  w^hole  fra- 
ternity, was  allowed  to  attend  the  king.  The  Jes- 
uits, by  this  mean,  gained  the  greatest  honor  and 
power,  and,  as  they  excelled  in  learning,  address, 
and  intrigue,  they  knew  how  to  obtain  the  king's 
iear,  and  how  to  improve  his  credulity  to  their  own 
advantage. 

This  dangerous  society  was  first  formed 

by  Ignatus  Loyola,  a  vSpanish  deserter? 
who,  being  frighted  out  of  the  army  by  a  wound, 
took  it  into  his  head  to  go  on  pilgrimage,  and  to 
form  a  religious  society  for  the  support  of  the  cath- 
olic faith.  The  Popes,  who  knew  how  to  avail 
themselves  of  enthusiasm  in  church  government, 
directed  this  grand  spring  of  human  action  to  secu- 
lar purposes,  and,  by  canonizing  the  founder,  and 
arranging  the  order,  elevated  the  society  in  a  few 
years,  to  a  height  that  astonished  all  Europe.  It 
was  one  opinion  of  their  society,  that  the  authority 
of  kings  is  inferior  to  that  of  the  people,  and  that 
they  may  be  punished  by  the  people  in  certain  ca- 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,       xlv 

ses.  It  was  another  maxim  with  them,  that  sove- 
reign princes  have  received  from  the  hand  of  God 
a  sword  to  punisli  heretics.  The  Jesuits  did  not 
invent  these  doctrines ;  but  they  drew  such  conse- 
quences from  them  as  were  most  prejudicial  to  the 
public  tranquility:  for,  from  the  conjunction  of 
these  two  principles,  they  concluded  that  an  heret- 
ical prince  ought  to  be  deposed,  and  that  heresy 
ought  to  be  extirpated  by  fire  and  sword,  in  case  it 
could  not  be  extiipated  otherwise.  In  co nformity 
to  the  first  of  these  principles,  two  kings  of  France 
had  been  murdered  successively,  under  pretext  that 
they  were  fautors  of  heretics.  The  parlia-  ^.^ 
ment  in  this  reign  condemned  this  as  a  per- 
nicious tenet,  and  declared  that  the  authority  of 
monarclis  was  dependent  only  on  God.  But  the 
last  principle,  that  related  to  the  extirpation  of  her- 
esy, as  it  flattered  the  court  and  the  clergy,  came 
into  vogue.  Jus  clivinum  was  the  test  of  sound  or- 
thodoxy ;  and  this  reasoning  became  popular  argu- 
mentation. Princes  may  put  heretics  to  death  ;  there- 
fore they  OUGHT  to  put  them  to  death, 

Richlieu,  who  had  wriggled  himself  into  power, 
by  publishing  a  scandalous  libel  on  the  protestants 
of  France,  advised  the  king  to  establish  his  author- 
ity, by  extirpating  the  intestine  evils  of  the  king- 
dom. He  assured  his  majesty  that  the  Hugonots 
bad  the  power  of  doing  him  mischief,  and  that  it 
was  a  principle  with  them,  that  kings  might  be  de- 
posed by  the  people.  The  protestants  replied  to  his 
invectives,  and  exposed  the  absurdity  of  his  reason- 
ing.    Richlieu  reasoned  thus.     John  Knox,  the 


xlvi      Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 

Scotch  reformer,  did  not  believe  the  divine  author- 
ity of  kings.  Calvin  held  a  correspondence  with 
Knox,  therefore  Calvin  did  not  believe  it.  The 
French  reformed  church  derived  its  doctrine  from 
Calvin's  church  of  Geneva,  therefore  the  first  Hu- 
fi'onots  did  not  believe  it.  The  first  Huo-onots  did 
not  believe  it,  therefore  the  present  Hugonots  do 
not  believe  it.  No  man,  who  valued  the  reputation 
of  a  man  of  sense,  would  have  scaled  the  walls  of 
preferment  with  such  a  ridiculous  ladder  as  this ! 

The  king,  intoxicated  with  despotic  principles,  fol- 
lowed the  fatal  advice  of  his  minister,  and  began 
with  his  patrimonial  province  of  Beam,  where  he 
caused  the  catholic  religion  to  be  establish- 
ed. The  Hugonots  broke  out  into  vio- 
lence, at  this  attack  on  their  liberties,  whence  the 
king  took  an  opportunity  to  recover  several  places 
from  them,  and  at  last  made  peace  with  them  on  con- 
dition of  their  demolishing  all  their  fortifications 
except  those  of  Montauban  and  Rochelle.  Arnoux, 
the  Jesuit,  who  was  a  creature  of  Richlieu's,  was, 
at  that  time,  confessor  to  Lewis  the  just. 

The  politic  Richlieu  invariably  pursued  his  de- 
sign of  rendering  his  master  absolute.  By  one  art 
he  subdued  the  nobility,  by  another  the  parliaments, 
and,  as  civil  and  religious  liberty  live  and  die  to- 
gether, he  had  engines  of  all  sorts  to  extirpate  her- 
esy. He  pretended  to  have  formed  the  design  of 
re-uniting  the  two  churches  of  protestants  and  cath- 
olics. He  drew^  off  from  the  protestant  party  the 
dukes  of  Sully,  Bouillon,  Lesdeguieres,  Rohan,  and 
many  of  the  first  quality  :  for  he  had  the  world,  and 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,     xlvii 

Its  glory  to  go  to  market  withal ;  and  he  had  to  do 
with  a  race  of  men,  w  ho  were  very  different  from 
their  ancestors.  Most  of  them  had  either  died  for 
their  profession,  or  had  fled  out  of  the  kingdom,  and 
several  of  them  had  submitted  to  practise  mean 
trades,  in  foreign  countries,  for  their  support :  But 
these  were  endeavoring  to  serve  God  and  mammon, 
and  his  eminence  was  a  fit  casuist  for  such  conscien- 
ces. 

The  protestants  had  resolved,  in  a  general  assem- 
bly, to  die  rather  than  to  submit  to  the  loss  of  their 
liberties :  but  their  king  was  weak,  their  prime  minis- 
ter was  wicked,  their  clerical  enemies  were  power- 
ful and  implacable,  and  they  were  obliged  to  bear 
those  infractions  of  edicts,  which  their  oppressors 
made  every  day.  At  length  Richlieu  determined 
to  put  a  period  to  their  hopes,  by  the  taking  of  Ro- 
chelle.  The  city  was  besieged  both  by  sea  and 
land,  and  the  efforts  of  the  besieged  were  at  last 
overcome  by  famine,^  they  had  lived  without  bread 
for  thirteen  weeks,  and,  of  eighteen  thousand  citi- 
zens, there  were  not  above  five  thousand  left.  The 
strength  of  the  protestants  was  broken  by 
this  stroke.  Montauban  agreed  now  to 
demolish  its  works,  and  the  just  king  confirmed 
anew  the  perpetual  ^nd  irrevocable  edict  of  Nantz,  as 
far  as  it  concerned  a  free  exercise  of  religion. 

The  Cardinal,  not  content  with  temporal  power, 
had  still  another  claim  on  the  protestants,  of  a  spirit- 
ual kind.  Cautionary  towns  must  be  given  up  to 
that,  and  conscience  to  this.  He  suffered  the  edict 
to  be  infringed  every  day,  and  he  w  as  determined 


xlviii  Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 

not  to  stop  till  he  had  established  an  uniformity  in  the 
church,  without  the  obtaining  of  which,  he  thought, 
tliat  something  was  wanting  to  his  master's  power. 
The  protestants  did  all  that  prudence  could  suggest. 
They  sent  the  famous  Amyraut  to  court  to 
complain  to  the  king  of  the  infraction  of 
their  edicts.  Mr.  Amyraut  was  a  proper  person  to 
go  on  this  business.  He  had  an  extreme  attach- 
ment to  the  doctrine  of  passive  obedience.  This  ren- 
dered him  agreeable  to  the  court:  and  he  had  de- 
clared for  no  obedience  in  matters  of  conscience, 
and  this  made  him  dear  to  the  protestants.  The  sy- 
nod ordered  him  not  to  make  his  speech  to  the  king 
kneeling,  as  the  deputies  of  the  former  synod  had 
done :  but  to  procure  the  restoring  of  the  privilege, 
which  they  formerly  enjoyed,  of  speaking  to  the 
king,  standing  as  the  other  ecclesiastics  of  the  king- 
dom were  allowed  to  do.  The  cardinal  strove,  for 
a  whole  fortnight,  to  make  Amyraut  submit  to  this 
tacit  acknowledgment  of  the  clerical  character  in 
the  popish  clergy,  and  of  the  want  of  it  in  the  re- 
formed ministers.  But  Amyraut  persisted  in  this 
claim,  and  was  introduced  to  the  king  as  the  synod 
had  desired.  The  whole  court  was  charmed  with 
the  deputy's  talents  and  deportment.  Richlieu  had 
many  conferences  with  him,  and,  if  negociation 
could  have  accommodated  the  dispute  betv.  een  ar- 
bitrary power  and  upright  consciences,  it  would 
have  been  settled  now.  He  was  treated  with  the 
utmost  politeness,  and  dismissed.  If  he  had  not  the 
pleasure  of  reflecting  that  he  had  obtained  the  liber- 
ty of  his  party,  he  had,  however,  the  peace  that 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,     xllx 

ariseth  from  a  consciousness  of  having  used  a  proper 
mean  to  obtain  it.  The  same  mean  was  tried,  some 
time  after,  by  the  inimitable  Du  Bosc,  whom  his 
countrymen  call  a  pekfect  orator,  but  alas  !  he  was 
eloquent  in  vain. 

The  affairs  of  the  protestants  waxed  every  day 
woi^e  and  worse.  They  saw  the  clouds  gathering, 
and  they  dreaded  the  weight  of  the  storm :  but  they 
knew  not  whither  to  flee.  Some  fled  to  England, 
but  no  peace  was  there.  Laud,  the  tyrant  of  the 
English  church,  had  a  Richlieu's  heart  without  his 
head,  he  persecuted  them,  and,  in  conjunction  with 
Wren,  and  other  such  churchmen,  drave  them  back 
to  the  infinite  damage  of  the  manufactures  of  the 
kingdom.  It  nmst  affect  every  liberal  eye 
to  see  such  Professors  as  Amyraut,  Cappel, 
and  De  La  Place,  such  ministers  as  Mestrezat  and 
Blondel,  who  would  have  been  an  honor  to  any 
community,  driven  to  the  sad  alternative  of  flying 
their  country,  or  of  violating  their  consciences.  But 
their  time  was  not  yet  fully  come. 

Cardinal  Richlieu's  hoary  head  went  down  to  the 
grave,  without  the  tears  of  his  master,  and 
with  the  hatred  of  all  France.     The  king 
soon    followed    him,    complaining    in   the     ^^^^' 
words  of  Job,  my  soul  is  weary  of  my  life.     The 
protestants  had  increased  greatly  in  numbers  in  this 
reign,  though  they  had  lost  their  power :  for  they 
were  now  computed  to  exceed  two  millions.     So 
true  is  it,  that  violent  measures  in  religion  weaken 
the  church  that  employs  them. 

VOL.  I.  7 


1  Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

Lewis  Xiy.  was  only  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  age 
at  the  demise  of  his  father.  The  queen-mother 
was  appointed  sole  regent  during  his  minority,  and 
Cardinal  Mazarine,  a  creature  of  Richlieu's,  was 
her  prime  minister.  The  edict  of  Nantz  was  con- 
firmed by  the  regent,  and  again  by  the  king 

I652!    ^^  h^^  majority.     But  it  was  always  the  cool 

determination  of  the  minister  to  follow  the 

late  Cardinal's  plan,  and  to  revoke  it  as  soon  as  he 

could,  and  he  strongly  impressed  the  mind  of  the 

king  with  the  expediency  of  it. 

Lewis,  who  was  a  perfect  tool  to  the  Jesuits,  fol- 
lowed the  advice  of  Mazarine,  of  his  confessors, 
and  of  the  clergy  about  him,  and  as  soon  as  he  took 

,     ,     the  management  of  affairs  into   his  own 

1661.  ^ 

hands,  he  made  a  firm  resolution  to  destroy 
the  Protestants.  He  tried  to  weaken  them  by  buy- 
ing ofl  their  great  men,  and  he  had  but  too  much 
success.  Some,  indeed,  were  superior  to  this  state- 
trick,  and  it  was  a  noble  answer  which  the  Marquis 
de  Bougy  gave,  when  he  was  offered  a  marshal's 
staff,  and  any  government  that  he  might  make 
choice  of,  provided  he  would  turn  papist.  "  Could 
I  be  prevailed  on,  said  he,  to  betray  my  God,  for 
a  marshal  of  France's  staff,  I  might  betray  my  king 
for  a  thing  of  much  less  consequence  :  but  I  will  do 
neither  of  them,  but  rejoice  to  find  that  my  servi- 
ces are  acceptable,  and  that  the  religion,  which  I 
profess,  is  the  only  obstacle  to  my  reward."  Was 
his  majesty  so  little  versed  in  the  knowledge  of  man- 
kind, as  not  to  know  that  saleable  virtue  is  seldom 
worth  buying  ? 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,         li 

The  king  used  another  art  as  mean  as  the  former. 
He  exhorted  the  bishops  to  take  care,  that  the  points 
in  controversy  betwixt  the  catholics  and  calvinists 
should  be  much  insisted  on  by  the  clergy,  in  their 
sermons,  especially  in  those  places  that  were  most- 
ly inhabited  by  the  latter,  and  that  a  good  number 
of  missionaries  should  be  sent  among  them,  to  con- 
vei-t  them  to  the  religion  of  their  ancestors.  It 
should  seem,  at  first  view,  that  the  exercise  of  his 
majesty's  power  in  this  w  ay  would  be  formidable 
to  the  protestants,  for,  as  the  king  had  the  nomina- 
tion of  eighteen  archbishops,  a  hundred  and  nine 
bishops,  and  seven  hundred  and  fifty  abbots,  and  as 
these  dignitaries  governed  the  inferior  clergy,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  all  the  Popish  clergy  of  France 
were  creatures  of  the  court,  and  several  of  them 
were  men  of  good  learning.  But  the  protestants 
had  no  fears  on  this  head.  They  were  excellent 
scholars,  masters  of  the  controversy,  hearty  in  the 
service,  and  the  mortifications,  to  which  they  had 
been  long  accustomed,  had  taught  them  that  tempe- 
rate coolness,  which  is  so  essential  in  the  investiga- 
ting and  supporting  of  truth.  They  published, 
therefore,  unanswerable  arguments  for  theii-  non- 
conformity. The  famous  Mr.  Claude,  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Charenton,  near  Paris,  wrote  a  defence  of 
the  reformation,  which  all  the  clergy  of  France  could 
not  answer.  The  bishops  however,  answered  the 
protestants  all  at  once,  by  procuring  an  edict  which 
forbad  them  to  print. 

The  king,  in  prosecution  of  his  design,  excluded 
the  calvinists  from  his  household,  and  from  all  oth- 


lii         Metnoirs  of  the  JReformation  in  France. 

er  employments  of  honor  and  profit,  he  ordered  all 
the  courts  of  justice,  erected  by  virtue  of  the  edict 
of  Nantz,  to  be  abolished,  and,  in  lieu  of  them, 
made  several  laws  in  favor  of  the  catholic  religion, 
which  debarred  from  all  liberty  of  abjuring  the 
catholic  doctrine,  and  restrained  those  protestants, 
who  had  embraced  it,  from  retm^ning  to  their  for- 
mer opinions,  under  severe  punishments.  He  or- 
dered soldiers  to  be  quartered  in  their  houses  till 
they  changed  their  religion.  He  shut  up  their 
churches,  and  forbad  the  ministerial  function  to 
their  clergy,  and,  where  his  commands  were  not 
readily  obeyed,  he  levelled  their  churches 
Oct  22  "^^'i^h  ^^^  ground.  At  last  he  revoked  the 
1685.    edict  of  Nantz,  and  banished  them  from  the 

kingdom. 
"  A  thousand  dreadful  blows,  says  Mr.   Saurin, 
were  struck  at  our  afflicted  churches,  before  that 
which  destroyed  them :   for  our  enemies,   if  I  may 
use  such  an  expression,  not  content  with  seeing  our 
ruin,  endeavoured  to  taste  it.       One  while,  edicts 
were  published   against  those,  w^ho,  foreseeing  the 
calamities  that  threatened  our  churches,    and  not 
Laving  pow  er  to  prevent  them,  desired  only  the  sad 
consolation  of  not  being  spectators  of  their  ruin. 
j^         Another  w^hile,  against  those,  who,  through 
1669.    their  weakness,,  had  denied  their  religion, 
^^       and  who  not  being  able  to  bear  the  remorse 
1679.    of  tlieir  consciences,  desired   to  return  to 
their  first  profession.     One  while,  our  pas- 
tors   were  forbidden   to   exercise   their   discipline 
on  those  of  their  flocks,   who    had  abjured   the 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France.       liii 

truth.    Another  while,  children   of  seven    June, 
years  of  age  were  allowed  to  embrace  doc- 
trines, which,  the  church  of  Rome  says,  are 
not  level  to  the  capacities  of  adults.     Noav    June, 
a  college  was  suppressed,  and  then  a  church 
shut  up.     Sometimes  we  were  forbidden  to      J^"- 

1   CO  o 

convert  infidels ;  and  sometimes  to  confirm 
those  in  the  truth,  whom  we  had  instructed  from 
their  infancy,  and  our  pastors  were  forbidden  to  ex- 
ercise their  pastoral  office  any  longer  in  one     j^, 
place   than  three   years.      Sometimes  the     I685. 
printing  of  our  books  was  prohibited,  and 
sometimes  those  which  we  had  printed  were     ^^P^- 
taken  aw^ay.     One  while,  we  were  not  suf- 
fered to  preach  in  a  church,  and  another  while,  we 
were  punished  for  preaching  on  its  ruins,   and  at 
length  were  forbidden  to  worship  God  in 
public  at  all.      Now   we   were  banished,     J^^*; 

,  ^  ^  1685. 

then  we  were  forbidden  to  quit  the  king-  i689. 
dom  on  pain  of  death.  Here  we  saw  the 
glorious  rewards  of  those  who  betrayed  their  re- 
ligion ;  and  there  we  beheld  those,  who  had  the 
courage  to  confess  it,  a  haling  to  a  dungeon,  a 
scaffold,  or  a  galley.  Here,  we  saw  our  perse- 
cutors drawing  on  a  sledge  the  dead  bodies  of 
those  who  had  expired  on  the  rack.  There, 
we  beheld  a  false  friar  tormenting  a  dying  man, 
who  was  terrified,  on  the  one  hand,  with  the 
fear  of  hell  if  he  should  apostatize,  and,  on  the 
other,  with  the  fear  of  leaving  his  children  without 
bread,  if  he  should  continue  in  the  faith :  yonder, 
they  w^ere  tearing  children  from  their  parents,  while 


Ivi      Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France. 

king  of  their  fortunes :  but  we  have  nothing  to  do 
with  these  private  views,  the  questions  are,  Was  it 
essential  to  the  general  safety  and  happiness  of  the 
kingdom  ?  Was  it  agreeable  to  the  unalterable  dic- 
tates of  right  reason  ?  Was  it  consistent  with  the 
sound,  approved  maxims  of  civil  policy  ?  In  these 
views,  we  venture  to  say,  that  the  repeal  of  the  edict 
of  Nantz,  which  had  been  the  security  of  the  pro- 
testants,  was  an  action  irrational  and  irreligious, 
inhuman  and  ungrateful,  perfidious,  impolitic,  and 
weak.  If  respect  to  religion,  and  right  reason,  were 
to  compose  a  just  title  for  the  perpetrator  of  such 
a  crime,  it  might  call  him,  a  most  inhuman  tyrant : 
certainly  it  would  not  call  him,  a  most  Christian  king. 
It  was  an  irrational  act,  for  there  was  no  fitness 
between  the  punishment  and  the  supposed  crime. 
The  crime  was  a  mental  error :  but  penal  laws  have 
no  internal  operation  on  the  mind.  It  was  irreli- 
gious,  for  religion  ends  where  persecution  begins. 
An  action  may  begin  in  religion :  but  when  it  pro- 
ceeds to  injure  a  person,  it  ceaseth  to  be  religion,  it 
is  only  a  denomination,  and  a  method  of  acting.  It 
was  inhuman,  for  it  caused  the  most  savage  cruel- 
ties. It  was  as  ungrateful  in  the  house  of  Bour- 
bon to  murder  their  old  supporters,  as  it  was  mag- 
nanimous in  the  protestants,  under  their  severest 
persecutions,  to  tell  their  murderer,  that  they 
thought  that  blood  well  employed,  which  had  been 
spilt  in  supporting  the  just  claim  of  the  house  of 
Bourbon  to  the  throne.  It  was,  to  the  last  degree, 
perfidious,  for  the  edict  of  Nantz  had  been  given  by 
Henry  IV,  for  a  perpetual,  and  irrevocable  decree ; 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,       Ivii 

it  had  been  confirmed  by  the  succeeding  princes, 
and  Lewis  XIV,  himself  had  assigned  in  the  de- 
claration the  loyalty  of  the  protestants,  as  a  reason 
of  the  confirmation.  My  subjects  of  the  pretended 
reformed  religion,  says  he,  have  given  me  unques- 
tionable proofs  of  their  affection  and  loyalty.  It 
had  been  sworn  to  by  the  governors  and  lieuten- 
ants general  of  the  provinces,  by  the  courts  of  par- 
liament, and  by  all  the  officers  of-  the  courts  of 
justice.  What  national  perjury !  Is  it  enough  to 
say  as  this  perjured  monarch  did.  My  grandfather 
Henry  IV,  loved  you,  and  w^as  obliged  to  you. 
My  father,  Lewis  XIII.  feared  you,  and  wanted 
your  assistance.  But  I  neither  love  you,  nor  fear 
you,  and  do  not  want  your  services  ?  The  ill  poli- 
cy of  it  is  confessed  on  all  sides.  Where  is  the  pol- 
icy of  banishing  eight  hundred  thousand  people, 
who  declare  that  a  free  exercise  of  religion  ought 
not  to  injure  any  man's  civil  rights,  and,  on  this 
principle,  support  thfe  king's  claim  to  the  crown,  as 
long  as  he  executes  the  duty  of  the  office  ?  Where 
is  the  policy  of  doing  this  in  order  to  secure  a  set  of 
men,  who  openly  avow  these  propositions,  "  the  Pope 
is  superior  to  all  law  :  It  is  right  to  kill  that  prince, 
whom  the  Pope  excommunicates :  If  a  prince  be- 
come an  Arian,  the  people  ought  to  depose  him  ?" 
Where  is  the  policy  of  banishing  men,  whose  doc- 
trines have  kept  in  the  kingdom,  during  the  space 
of  tw^o  hundred  and  Miy  years,  the  sum  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  millions  of  livres,  which,  at  a  mode- 
rate calculation,  would  otherwise  have  gone  to 
Rome  for  indulgencies,  and  annates,  and  other  such 

VOL.   T.  8 


Iviii     Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 

trash  ?  Who  was  the  politician,  the  Count  d'Avaux",' 
who,  while  he  was  ambassador  in  Holland,  offered 
-P  to  prove  that  the  refugees  had  carried  out 

1685  of  France  more  than  twenty  millions  of 
^^  property,  and  advised  the  king  to  recall  it, 
by  recalling  its  owners  ?  or  the  king,  who 
refused  to  avail  himself  of  this  advice  ?  Who  was 
the  politician,  the  intolerant  Lewis,  who  drove  his 
protestant  soldiers  and  sailors  out  of  his  service  ? 
or  the  benevolent  prince  of  Orange,  who,  in  one 
year,  raised  three  regiments  of  French  refugee  sol- 
diers, commanded  by  their  own  officers,  and  man- 
ned three  vessels,  at  the  same  time,  with  refugee 
sailors,  to  serve  the  Dutch,  while  France  Avanted 
men  to  equip  her  fleets?  The  protestants,  having 
been  for  some  time,  excluded  from  all  offices,  and 
not  being  suffered  to  enjoy  any  civil  or  military 
employments,  had  applied  themselves  either  to  the 
manufactures,  or  to  the  improving  of  their  money 
in  trade.  W^as  it  policy  to  banish  a  Mons.  Vincent, 
who  employed  more  than  five  hundred  workmen  ? 
W^as  it  policy  on  the  side  of  that  prince,  who  de- 
molished manufactories  ?  or  on  the  side  of  those 
who  set  them  up,  by  receiving  the  refugee  manu- 
facturers into  tlieir  kingdoms  ?  Had  England  deriv- 
ed no  more  advantage  from  its  hospitality  to  the 
refugees  than  the  silk  manufacture,  it  would  have 
amply  repaid  the  nation.  The  memorials  of  the  in- 
tend ants  of  the  provinces  were  full  of  such  com- 
plaints. The  intendant  of  Rouen  said  that 
tlie  refugees  had  carried  away  the  manu- 
facture of  hats.    The  intendant  of  Poitiers  said  that 


Memoirs  of  the  Reformation  in  France,        lix 

ihey  had  taken  away  the  manufacture  of  drug- 
gets. In  some  provinces  the  commerce  was  di« 
minished  several  millions  of  livres  in  a  year,  and 
in  some  half  the  revenue  was  sunk.  Was  it  policy 
in  Ihe  king  to  provoke  the  protestant  states,  and 
princes,  who  had  always  been  his  faithful  allies  a- 
gainst  the  house  of  Austria,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
to  supply  them  with  eight  hundred  thousand  new 
sul jects  ?  After  ^11,  it  was  a  weak  and  foolish  step, 
for  the  protestants  were  not  extirpated.  There  re- 
mained almost  as  many  in  the  kingdom  as  were 
driven  out  of  it,  and,  even  at  this  day,  though  now 
and  then  a  preacher  hath  been  hanged,  and  now  and 
then  a  family  murdered,  yet  the  opulent  province 
of  Languedoc  is  full  of  protestants,  the  Lutherans 
have  the  university  of  Alsace,  neither  art  nor  cruel- 
ty can  rid  the  kingdom  of  them,  and  some  of  th6 
greatest  ornaments  of  France  now  plead  for  a  free 

TOLERATIO.V. 

Tlie   refugees  charge   their  banishment   on    the 
clergy  of  France,  and  they  give  very  good  proof  of 
their  assertion,  nor  do  they  mistake,  when  they  af- 
firm that  their  sufferings  are  a  part  of  the  religion 
of  Rome,  for  Pope  Innocent  XI.  highly  approved 
of  this  persecution.     He  wrote  a  brief  to  the  king, 
in   which  he  assured  him   that  what   he  had  done 
ao;ainst  the  heretics  of  his  kino;dom  w  ould  be  im- 
mortalized   by  the  elogies  of  the  catholic  church. 
He  delivered  a  discourse  in  the  consistory, 
in  which  he  said,  the  most  Christian  king's     i^'^g^  ' 
^eal,  and  piety,  did  wonderfully  appear  in 
extirpating  luresi/,  ojid  in  cleaning  his  whole  kingdom 


Ix  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Mr.  Saurin, 

of  it  in  a  very  few  months.     He  ordered  Te  Deum 
to  be  sung,  to  give  thanks  to  God  for  this  return  of 
the  heretics  into  the  pale  of  the  church,  which  was 
accordingly  done  with  great  pomp.     If  this  perse- 
cution were  clerical  policy,  it  was  bad,  and, 
if  it  were  the  religion  of  the  French  clergy, 
it  was  worse.     In  either  case  the  church  procured 
great  evil  to  the  state.     Lewis  XIV.  w^as 
on  the  pinnacle  of  glory  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  peace  of  Nimeguen,  his  dominion  was,  as  it 
were,  established  over  all  Europe,  and  was  become 
an   inevitable   prejudice   to  neighbouring   nations; 
but,  here  he  began  to  extirpate  heresy,  and  here  he 
began  to  fall,  nor  has  the  nation  ever  recovered  its 
grandeur  since. 

Protestant  powers  opened  their  arms  to  these 
venerable  exiles.  Abbadie,  Ancillon,  and  others, 
fled  to  Berlin.  Basnage,  Claude,  Du  Bosc,  and 
many  more,  found  refuge  in  Holland.  The  famous 
Dr.  Allix,  with  numbers  of  his  brethren,  came  to 
England.  A  great  many  families  w^ent  to  Geneva, 
among  which  was  that  of  Saurin. 

Mr.  Saurin,  the  father  of  our  author,  w  as  an  em- 
inent protestant  lawyer  at  Nismes,  who,  after  the 
repeal  of  the  edict  of  Nantz,  retired  to  Gen- 
eva. He  w^as  considered  at  Geneva  as  the 
oracle  of  the  French  language,  the  nature  and  beau- 
ty of  which  he  thoroughly  understood.  He  had 
four  sons,  whom  he  trained  up  in  learning,  and  who 
were  all  so  remarkably  eloquent,  that  eloquence 
was  said  to  be  hereditary  in  the  family.  The  Rev- 
erend Lewis  Saurin,  one  of  the  sons,  was  afterwards 


Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Mr.  Saurin.  Ixi 

pastor  of  a  French  church  in  London.  Saurin,  the 
father,  died  at  Geneva.  .James,  the  author  of  the 
follow  in  o;  sermons,  was  born  at  JNismes,  and 

.  1677. 

went  with  his  father  into  exile,  to  Geneva, 
where  he  profited  very  much  in  learning. 

In  the  seventeenth  year  of  his  age,  Sau-     1694 
rin  quitted  his  studies  to  go  into  the  army,  and  made 
a  campaign  as  a  cadet  in  lord  Galloway's  company. 
The  next  year  his  captain  gave  him  a  pair 
of  colours  in  his  regiment,  which  then  serv- 
ed in  Piedmont:  But  the   year  after,  the 
duke  of  Savoy,  under  whom  Saurin  served,      ^ 
having  made  his  peace  with  France,  Saurin  Cjuitted 
the  profession  of  arms,  for  which  he  was  never  de- 
signed, and  returned  to  Geneva  to  study. 

Geneva  was,  at  that  time,  the  residence  of  some 
of  the  best  scholars  in  Europe,  w  ho  were  in  the 
highest  estimation  in  the  republic  of  letters.  Pictet, 
Lewis  Tronchin,  and  Philip  Mestrezat,  were  pro- 
fessors of  divinity  .there,  Alphonso  Turretin  was 
professor  of  sacred  history,  and  Chouet,  who  was 
afterward  taken  from  his  professorship,  and  admit- 
ted into  the  government  of  the  republic,  was  profes- 
sor of  natural  philosophy.  The  other  departments 
were  filled  with  men,  equally  eminent  in  their  sev- 
eral professions.  Some  of  them  were  natives  of 
Geneva,  others  were  exiles  from  Italy  and  France, 
several  were  of  noble  families,  and  all  of  them  were 
men  of  eminent  piety.  Under  these  great  masters, 
Saurin  became  a  student,  and  particularly  applied 
himself  to  divinity,  as  he  now  began  to  think  of  de- 


Ixii        Memoirs  o/  the  Life  of  Mr,  Saurin, 

votino;  himself  to  the  ministry.  To  dedi- 
cate  one's  self  to  the  ministry  in  a  wealthy, 
flourishing  church,  where  rich  benefices  are  every 
day  becoming  vacant,  requires  vtry  little  virtue, 
and  sometimes  only  a  strong  propensity  to  vice : 
but  to  choose  to  be  a  minister  in  such  a  poor,  ban- 
ished, persecuted  church  as  that  of  the  French  pro- 
testants,  argues  a  noble  contempt  of  the  world,  and 
a  supreme  love  to  God,  and  to  the  souls  of  men. 
These  are  the  best  testimonials,  however,  of  a  young 
minister,  whose  profession  is  not  to  enrich,  but  to 
save  himself  and  them  who  hear  him,  1  Tim.  iv.  16. 
After  Mr.  Saurin  had  finished  his  studies, 
he  visited  Holland,  and  England.  In  the 
first  he  made  a  very  short  stay  :  but  in  the  last  he 
staid  almost  five  years,  and  preached  with  great 
acceptance  among  his  fellow  exiles  in  London. 
His  dress  was  that  of  the  French  clergy,  the  gown 
and  cassock.  His  address  was  perfectly  gen- 
teel, a  happy  compound  of  the  affable  and  the 
grave,  at  an  equal  distance  from  rusticity  and  fop- 
pery. His  voice  was  strong,  clear,  and  harmonious, 
and  he  never  lost  the  manaojement  of  it.  His  style 
was  pure,  unaffected,  and  eloquent,  sometimes  plain, 
and  sometimes  flowery :  but  never  improper,  as  it 
was  always  adapted  to  the  audience,  for  whose  sake 
he  spoke.  An  Italian  acquaintance  of  mine,  who 
often  heard  him  at  the  Hague,  tells  me  that  in  the 
introductions  of  his  sermons  he  used  to  deliver  him- 
self in  a  tone  modest  and  low ;  in  the  body  of  the 
sermon,  which  was  adapted  to  the  understanding, 
he  was  plain,  clear,  and  argumentative,  pausing  at 


Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Mr,  Saurht,        Ixiii 

the  close  of  each  period,  that  he  might  discover, 
by  the  countenances  and  motions  of  his  hearers, 
whether  they  were  convinced  by  his  reasoning ;  in 
his  addresses  to  the  wicked,  (and  it  is  a  folly  to 
preach  as  if  there  were  none  in  our  assemblies, 
Mr.  Saurin  knew  mankind  too  well)  he  was  of- 
ten sonorous,  but  oftener  a  weeping  suppliant  at 
their  feet.  In  the  one  he  sustained  the  authorita- 
tive dignity  of  his  office,  in  the  other  he  expressed 
his  master's,  and  his  own  benevolence  to  bad  men, 
praying  them  in  Christ's  stead  to  he  reconciled  to  God, 
2  Cor.  V.  20.  In  general,  adds  my  friend,  his 
preaching  resembled  a  plentiful  shower  of  dew, 
softly  and  imperceptibly  insinuating  itself  into  the 
minds  of  his  numerous  hearers,  as  the  dew  into  the 
pores  of  plants,  till  the  whole  church  was  dissolv- 
ed, and  all  in  tears  under  his  sermons.  His  doc- 
trine was  that  of  the  French  protestants,  which  at 
that  time,  was  moderate  Calvinism.  He  approved 
of  the  discipline  of  his  own  churches,  which  was 
presbyterian.  He  was  an  admirable  scholar,  and, 
-which  were  his  highest  encomiums,  he  had  an  un- 
conquerable aversion  to  sin,  a  supreme  love  to  God, 
and  to  the  souls  of  men,  and  a  holy,  unblemished 
life.  Certainly  he  had  some  faults  :  but,  as  I  never 
heard  of  any,  I  can  publish  none. 

During  his  stay  in  England,  he  married 
a  Miss  Catherine  Boy  ton,  by  whom  he  had 
a  son,  named  Philip,  who  survived  him ;  but  wheth- 
er he  had  any  more  children   I  know  not. 
Two  years  after  his  marriage  he  returned 


Ixiv        Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Mr.  Saurin. 

to  Holland,  where  he  had  a  mind  to  settle  :  but,  the 
pastoral  offices  being  all  full,  and  meeting  with  no 
prospect  of  a  settlement,  though  his  preaching  was 
received  with  universal  applause,  he  was  preparing 
to  return  to  England,  when  a  chaplainship  to  some 
of  the  nobility  at  the  Hague,  with  a  stipend,  was 
offered  to  him.  Tlis  situation  exactly  suited  his 
wishes,  an*^]  he  accepted  the  place. 

1705.  The  Hague,  it  is  said,  is  the  finest  village 
in  Europe.  It  is  the  residence  of  the  vStates  Gene- 
ral, of  ambassadors,  and  envoys  from  other  courts, 
of  a  great  number  of  nobility,  and  gentry,  and  of 
a  multitude  of  French  refugees.  The  princes  of 
Orange  have  a  spacious  palace  here,  and  the  chapel 
of  the  palace  was  given  to  the  refugees  for  a  place 
of  public  worship,  and,  it  being  too  small  to  con- 
tain them,  it  w  as  enlarged  by  above  a  half.  This 
French  church  called  him  to  be  one  of  their  pastors. 
He  accepted  the  call,  and  continued  in  his  office 
till  his  death.  He  w^as  constantly  attended  by  a 
very  crowded  and  brilliant  audience,  was  heard 
wuth  the  utmost  attention  and  pleasure,  and,  what 
few  ministers  can  say,  the  effects  of  his  ministerial 
labours  were  seen  in  the  holy  lives  of  great  numbers 
of  his  people. 

When  the  princess  of  Wales,  afterward  Queen 
Caroline,  passed  through  Holland,  in  her  way  to 
England,  Mr.  Saurin  had  the  honor  of  paying  his 
respects  to  that  illustrious  lady.  Her  royal  high- 
ness was  pleased  to  single  him  out  from  the  rest  of 
the  clergy,  who  were  present,  and  to  say  to  him, 
''  Do  not  imagine  that,  being  dazzled  with  the  glory 


Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Mr,  Saurin,         Ixv 

which  this  revolution  seems  to  promise  me,  I  have 
lost  sight  of  that  God  from  whom  it  proceeds.  He 
hath  been  pleased  to  distinguish  it  with  so  many  ex- 
traordinary marks,  that  I  cannot  mistake  his  divine 
hand ;  and,  as  I  consider  this  long  train  of  favors  as 
immediately  coming  from  him,  to  Him  alone  I  con- 
secrate them."  It  is  not  astonishing,  if  Saurin 
speaks  of  this  condescension  with  rapture.  They 
are  the  kind  and  Christian  actions  of  the  governors 
of  a  free  people,  and  not  the  haughty  airs  of  a 
French  tyrant,  insulting  his  slaves,  that  attach  and 
inflame  the  hearts  of  mankind.  The  history  of  this 
illustrious  Christian  queen  is  not  written  in  blood, 
and  therefore  it  is  always  read  with  tears  of  grate- 
ful joy. 

Her  royal  highness  was  so  well  satisfied  of  Mr. 
Saurin' s  merit,  that  soon  after  her  arrival  in  Eng- 
land, she  ordered  Dr.  Boulter,  who  was  preceptor 
lo  prince  Frederic,  the  father  of  his  present  majes- 
ty, to  write  to  Saurin,  to  draw  up  a  treatise  on  the 
education  of  princes.  Saurin  immediately  obeyed 
the  order,  and  prefixed  a  dedication  to  the  young 
princes.  The  book  w  as  never  printed :  but,  as  it 
obtained  the  approbation  of  the  princess  of  Wales, 
Avho  was  an  incomparable  judge,  we  may  conclude 
that  it  was  excellent  in  its  kind.  This  was  follow- 
ed by  a  handsome  present  from  the  princess  to  the 
author.  His  most  considerable  work  was  entitled 
Discourses  historical,  critical  and  moral,  on  the  most 
memorable  events  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament, 
This  work  was  undertaken  by  the  desire  of  a 
Dutch  merchant,  who  expended  an  immense  sum 

VOL,   I.  9 


Ixvi       Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Mr.  Saurin, 

in  the  engraving  of  a  multitude  of  copper  plates, 
which  adorn  the  work.  It  consists  of  six  folio  vol- 
umes. Mr.  Saurin  died  before  the  third  was  fin- 
ished :  but  iMr.  Roques  finished  the  third,  and  ad- 
ded a  fourth  on  the  Old  Testament;  and  Mr.  de 
Beausobre  subjoined  two  on  the  New  Testament. 
The  whole  is  replete  with  very  extensive  learning, 
and  well  worth  the  careful  perusal  of  students  in 
divinity.  The  first  of  these  was  translated  into 
English  by  Chamberlayne,  soon  after  its  first  pub- 
lication in  French. 

His  dissertation  on  the  expediency  of  sometimes  dis- 
guising the  truth,  raised  a  furious  clamour  against 
our  author.  He  does  not  decide  the  question:  but 
he  seems  to  take  the  affirmative.  This  produced  a 
paper  war,  and  his  antagonists  unjustly  censured 
his  morals.  The  mildness  of  his  disposition  render- 
ed him  a  desirable  opponent,  for  though  he  was 
sure  to  conquer,  yet  he  subdued  his  adversary  so 
handsomely,  that  the  captive  was  the  better  for  his 
defeat.  But  others  did  not  controvert  with  so  much 
temper.  Some  wrote  against  him,  others  for  him. 
At  length  the  synod  decided  the  dispute  in  his  fa- 
vour. 

He  published  a  small,  but  valuable  piece  on  the 
state  of  Christianity  in  France,  It  treats  of  many 
important  points  of  religion,  in  controversy  between 
the  catholics  and  protestants. 

There  are  twelve  volumes  of  his  sermons.  Some 
are  dedicated  to  his  Majesty  George  II.  and  the 
king  was  pleased  to  allow  him  a  handsome  pension. 
Some  to  her  majesty  dueen  Caroline,  while  she 


Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  3Ir.  Saurin.      Ixvii 

was  princess  of  Wales.  One  to  Count  Wassanaer,  a 
Dutch  nobleman.  Two  were  dedicated  to  her  Ma- 
jesty, after  his  decease  by  his  son.  Professor  Du- 
mont,  and  Mr.  Husson,  to  whom  Mr.  Saurin  left  his 
manuscripts,  published  the  rest,  and  one  volume  is 
dedicated  to  the  Countess  Dowager  of  Albemarle. 

The  English  seem  therefore  to  have  a  right  to 
the  labours  of  this  great  man. 

Mr.  Sam  in  died  at  the  Hague  on  Dec.  30th,  1730, 
most  sincerely  regretted  by  all  his  acquaintances, 
as  well  as  by  his  chmch,  who  lost  in  him  a  truly 
primitive  Christian  minister,  who  spent  his  life,  in 
watching  over  his  flock,  as  one  who  knew  that  he 
must  give  an  account. 

In  regard  to  this  translation,  it  was  first  underta- 
ken by  the  desire  of  a  small  circle  of  private  friends, 
for  our  mutual  edification.  If  I  have  suffered  my 
private  opinion  to  be  prevailed  over  by  others,  to 
print  this  translation,  it  is  not  [because  I  think  my- 
self able  to  give  language  to  Saurin  :  but  because  I 
humbly  hope  that  the  sentiments  of  the  author  may 
be  conveyed  to  the  reader,  by  this  translation.  His 
sentiments,  I  think,  are,  in  general,  those  of  the  ho- 
ly scripture,  and  his  manner  of  treating  them  well 
adapted  to  impress  them  on  the  heart.  I  have  en- 
deavoured not  to  disguise  his  meaning,  though  I 
have  not  been  able  to  adopt  his  style,  for  which  de- 
fect, though  I  print  them  by  private  subscription, 
for  the  use  of  my  friends,  on  whose  candour  I  de- 
pend, yet  I  do  not  offer  to  publish  them  to  the  world, 
for  the  language  of  Mr.  Saurin.  I  should  have 
been  glad  to  have  pleased  every  subscriber,  by  in- 


Ixviii      Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Mr,  Sauriih 

serting  those  sermons,  which  were  most  agreeable 
to  him,  had  I  known  which  they  were :  but  as  this 
was  impossible,  I  have  followed  my  own  judgment, 
or  perhaps  exposed  my  want  of  it.  The  first  volume 
aims  to  secure  the  doctrine  of  a  God,  against  the  at- 
tacks of  atheists.  In  the  second  we  mean  to  plead  for 
the  holy  scriptures  against  deists.  In  the  third,  we 
intend  to  take  those  sermons,  which  treat  of  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  as  we  humbly  conceive 
that  the  New  Testament  is  somethinfj  more  than  a 
system  of  moral  philosophy.  And  the  last  volume 
we  dedicate  to  moral  subjects,  because  we  think 
Christianity  a  holy  religion,  productive  of  moral 
obedience  in  all  its  true  disciples.  May  the  God  of 
all  grace  bless  the  reading  of  them  to  the  weaken- 
ing of  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  to  the  advancement 
of  the  kingdom  of  our  blessed  Redeemer,  Jesus 
Chi'ist. 

R.  ROBINSON, 

Chesterton  near  Cambridge, 
April  15th,  1775. 


SERMON  I. 

The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

Heb.  v.  12,  13,  14,— vi.  1,  2,  3. 

For  ivhenfor  the  time  ye  ought  to  he  teachers,  ye  have 
need  that  one  teach  you  again,  which  he  the  first 
principles  of  the  oracles  of  God,  and  are  hecome 
such  as  have  need  of  milk,  and  not  of  strong  meat. 
For  every  one  that  useih  milk  is  unskilful  in  the 
word  of  righteousness :  for  he  is  a  hahe.  But 
strong  meat  helongeth  to  them  that  are  of  fidl  agCy 
even  those  who  hy  reason  of  age  have  their  senses 
exercised,  to  discern  hoth  good  and  evil, — Therefore 
leaving  the  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  let 
us  GO  ON  UNTO  PERFECTION,  uot  laying  again  the 
foundation  of  repentance  from  dead  works,  and  of 
faith  towards  God,  of  the  doctrine  of  haptisms,  and 
of  laying  on  of  hands,  and  of  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  and  of  eternal  judgment.  And  this  jvill  we 
do  if  God  permit. 

I  HAVE  put  two  subjects  together  which  are 
closely  connected,  and  I  intend  to  explain  both  in 
this  discourse.  The  last  part  of  the  text  is  a  con- 
sequence of  the  first.  In  the  first,  St.  Paul  reproves 
some  Christians  for  their  little  knowledge  ;  in  the 


70        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge, 

last,  he  exhorts  them  to  increase  it :  and  the  con- 
nection of  both  will  appear,  if  you  attend  to  the 
subject  under  his  consideration.  The  epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  which  may  be  considered  as  the  apostle's 
principal  w  ork,  treats  of  the  most  difficult  points  of 
divinity  and  morality.  In  particular,  this  is  the 
idea  that  must  be  formed  of  Melchisedec's  priest- 
hood, as  a  prefiguration  of  Jesus  Christ's.  This 
mysterious  subject  the  Apostle  had  begun  to  dis- 
cuss, but  he  had  not  proceeded  far  in  it  before  he 
found  himself  at  a  stand,  by  recollecting  the  char- 
acter of  those  to  whom  he  was  writing.  He  de- 
scribes them,  in  the  text,  as  men  who  were  grown 
old  in  the  profession  of  Christianity  indeed,  but 
w^ho  knew  nothing  more  of  it  than  its  first  princi- 
ples :  and  he  endeavors  to  animate  them  with  the 
laudable  ambition  of  penetrating  the  noblest  parts 
of  that  excellent  system  of  religion,  which  Jesus 
Christ  had  published,  and  which  his  apostles  had 
explained  in  all  its  beauty,  and  in  all  its  extent. 

This  general  notion  of  St.  Paul's  design,  in  the 
words  of  my  text,  is  the  best  comment  on  his  mean- 
ing, and  the  best  explication  that  we  can  give  of 
his  terms. 

By  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God,  to 
which  the  Hebrews  confined  themselves,  the  apos- 
tle means  the  rudiments  of  that  science  of  which 
God  is  the  object ;  that  is.  Christian  divinity  and 
morality :  and  these  rudiments  are  here  also  called 
the  principles  of  Christ,^  that  is,  the  first  principles 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge.       71 

of  that  doctrine  which  Jesus  Christ  had  taught. 
These  are  compared  to  milky  which  is  given  to  chil- 
dren incapable  of  digesting  strong  meat ;  and  they 
are  opposed  to  the  profound  knowledge  of  those 
who  have  been  habituated  by  long  exercise  to  study 
and  meditation,  or,  as  the  apostle  expresseth  it, 
"  who  by  reason  of  use  have  their  senses  exercised 
to  discern  both  good  and  evil." 

In  this  class  St.  Paul  places,  first,  repentance  from 
dead  works,  and  faith  towards  God.  These  were  the 
first  truths  which  the  heralds  of  the  gospel  preached 
to  their  hearers  :  to  them  they  said,  Repent  and  be- 
lieve the  gospel. 

St.  Paul  places  in  the  same  class,  secondly,  the 
doctrine  of  baptisms,  that  is,  the  confession  of  faith 
that  w  as  required  of  those  who  had  resolved  to  pro- 
fess Christianity  and  to  be  baptized.  Of  such  per- 
sons a  confession  was  required,  and  their  answers  to 
certain  questions  were  demanded.  The  formularies 
that  have  been  used  on  this  occasion,  have  been  ex- 
tremely diversified  at  difierent  places  and  in  differ- 
ent times,  but  the  most  ancient  are  the  shortest  and 
the  most  determinate.  One  question  that  was  put 
to  the  catechumen,  was,  "  Dost  thou  renounce  the 
devil  ?"  to  which  he  answered,  "  I  renounce  him." 
Another  was,  "  Dost  thou  believe  in  Jesus  Christ?" 
to  which  he  replied,  "  I  believe  in  him."  St.  Cy- 
prian calls  these  questions  the  baptismal  interroga- 
tory;  and  the  answers  are  called  by  Tertullian /Ae 
answer  of  salvation  :  and  we  have  a  passage  upon 
this  article  in  an  author  still  more  respectable,  I 
mean  St.  Peter,  who  says,  "  Baptism  doth  also  now 


72        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

save  us,  not  the  putting  away  the  filth  of  the  flesh, 
but  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  towards  God," 
1  Peter  iii.  21.  that  is,  the  answer  which  w^as  given 
by  the  catechumen  before  his  baptism. 

Thirdly,  Among  the  rudiments  or  first  principles 
of  Christianity,  St.  Paul  puts  the  laying  on  of  hands, 
by  which  Ave  understand  the  gift  of  miracles,  which 
the  apostles  communicated  by  imposition  of  hands 
to  those  who  embraced  the  gospel.  We  have  sev- 
eral instances  of  this  in  scripture,  and  a  particular 
account  of  it  in  the  eighth  chapter  of  Acts,  verses 
11,  12,  14,  17.  It  is  there  said,  that  Philip,  having 
undeceived  many  of  the  Samaritans,  whom  Simon 
the  sorcerer  had  of  a  long  time  bewitched,  baptised 
both  men  and  women,  and  that  the  apostles,  Peter 
and  John,  laid  their  hands  on  them,  and  by  that  cer- 
emony communicated  to  them  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

The  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  eternal  judgment^ 
two  other  articles  which  St.  Paul  places  in  the  same 
class  :  Articles  believed  by  the  weakest  Christians, 
received  by  the  greatest  part  of  the  Jews,  and  ad- 
mitted by  even  many  of  the  heathens.  Now  the 
apostle  wishes  that  the  Hebrews,  leaving  these  prin- 
ciples,  would  aspire  to  be  perfect.  Let  us  go  on  unto 
perfection,  says  he,  let  us  proceed  from  the  catechu- 
men state  to  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  that  re- 
ligion, which  is  wisdom  among  them  that  are  perfect ; 
that  is,  a  system  of  doctrine  which  cannot  be  well 
understood  by  any  except  by  such  as  the  heathens 
call  perfect.  They  denominated  those  perfect,  who 
did  not  rest  in  a  superficial  knowledge  of  a  science, 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge,       73 

but  who  endeavored  thoroughly  to  understand  the 
whole.  This  was  the  design  of  St.  Paul  in  writing 
to  the  Hebrews  ;  and  this  is  our's  in  addressing  you. 

We  will  endeavor,  first,  to  give  you  as  exact  and 
adequate  a  notion  as  we  can  of  Christian  divinity 
and  morality,  and  from  thence  to  infer,  that  you 
can  neither  see  the  beauty,  nor  reap  the  benefit  of 
either  of  them,  while  you  confine  yourselves,  as 
mosl  of  you  do,  to  a  few  loose  principles,  and  con- 
tinue unacquainted  with  the  whole  system  or  body 
of  reliction. 

Secondly,  We  will  enquire,  why  so  many  of  us 
do  confine  our  attention  to  these  first  truths,  and 
never  proceed  to  the  rest. 

Lastly,  We  will  give  you  some  directions  how  to 
increase  your  knowledge,  and  to  attain  that  perfec- 
tion to  which  St.  Paul  endeavored  to  conduct  the 
Hebrews.  This  is  the  whole  that  we  propose  to 
treat  of  in  this  discourse. 

I,  It  is  evident  from  the  nature  of  Christianity, 
that  you  can  neither  see  its  beauties,  nor  reap  its 
benefits,  while  you  attend  only  to  some  loose  prin- 
ciples, and  do  not  consider  the  whole  system :  for 
the  truths  of  religion  form  a  system,  a  body  of  co- 
herent doctrines,  closely  connected,  and  in  perfect 
harmony.  Nothing  better  distinguisheth  the  accu- 
rate judgment  of  an  orator,  or  a  philosopher,  than 
the  connection  of  his  orations  or  systems.  Uncon- 
nected systems,  orations,  in  which  the  author  is  de- 
termined only  by  caprice  and  chince,  as  it  Avere,  to 
place  the  p  oposition  which  follows  after  that  which 
precedes,  and  that  which  precedes  before  that  which 

VOL.  I.  10 


74        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knorvledge, 

follows  ;  such  orations  and  systems  are  less  worthy 
of  rational  beings,  than  of  creatures  destitute  of  in- 
telligence, whom  nature  has  formed  capable  of  pro- 
ducing sounds  indeed,  but  not  of  forming  ideas. 
Orations  and  systems  should  be  connected:  each 
part  should  occupy  the  place  which  order  and  accu- 
racy, not  caprice  and  chance,  assign  it.  They 
should  resemble  buildings  constructed  according  to 
the  rules  of  art;  the  laws  of  which  are  never  arbi- 
trary, but  fixed  and  inviolable,  founded  on  the  na- 
ture of  regularity  and  proportion  :  or,  to  use  St. 
Paul's  expression,  each  should  be  "  a  body  fitly 
joined  together,  and  compacted  by  that  which  eve- 
ry joint  supplieth,"  Eph.  iv.  16. 

Let  us  apply  this  to  the  subject  in  hand.  No- 
thing better  proves  the  divinity  of  religion,  than 
the  connexion,  the  harmony,  the  agreement  of  its 
component  parts.  I  am  aware  that  this  grand  char- 
acteristic of  Christianity  hath  occasioned  many  mis- 
takes among  mankind.  Under  pretence  that  a  re- 
ligion proceeding  from  God  must  harmonize  in  its 
component  parts,  men  have  licentiously  contrived 
a  chain  of  propositions  to  please  themselves.  They 
have  substituted  a  phantom  of  their  own  imagina- 
tion, for  that  body  of  doctrine  which  God  hath  giv- 
en us  in  the  holy  scriptures. — Hence  so  much  ob- 
stinacy in  maintaining,  after  so  much  rashness  and 
presumption  in  advancing  such  phantoms.  For,  my 
brethren,  of  all  obstinate  people,  none  excel  more 
in  their  dreadful  kind,  than  those  who  are  prejudi- 
ced in  favour  of  certain  systems.  A  man  who  does 
not  tiiink   himself  capable  of  forming  a  connected 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge,       15 

system,  can  bear  contradiction,  because,  if  he  be 
obliged  to  give  up  some  of  the  propositions  which 
he  hath  advanced,  some  others  which  he  embraces 
w^ill  not  be  disputed,  and  what  remains  may  indem- 
nify him  for  what  he  surrenders.  But  a  man  pre- 
possessed with  an  imaginary  system  of  his  own  has 
seldom  so  much  teachableness.  He  knows,  that  if 
one  link  be  taken  aw  ay  his  chain  falls  to  pieces ; 
and  that  there  is  no  removing  a  single  stone  from 
his  building  without  destroying  the  whole  edifice : 
he  considers  the  upper  skins  which  covered  the  tab- 
ernacle, as  typical  as  the  ark  in  the  holy  place,  or 
the  mercy-seat  itself.  The  staff  with  which  Jacob 
passed  over  Euphrates,  and  of  which  he  said,  "  with 
my  staff  I  passed  over  this  river,"  seems  to  him  as 
much  designed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  typify  the 
cross  on  which  Jesus  Christ  redeemed  the  church, 
as  the  serpent  of  brass  w hich  was  lifted  up  in  the 
desert  by  the  express  command  of  God  himself. 

But  if  infatuation  with  systems  hath  occasioned 
so  many  disorders  in  the  church,  the  opposite  dis- 
position, I  mean,  the  obstinate  rejection  of  all,  or 
the  careless  composition  of  some,  hath  been  equal- 
ly hurtful :  for  it  is  no  less  dano;erous,  in  a  svstem 
of  religion,  to  omit  what  really  belongs  to  it,  than 
to  incorporate  any  thing  foreign  from  it. 

Let  us  be  more  explicit.  There  are  two  sorts  of 
truths  in  religion;  truths  of  speculation,  and  truths 
of  practice.  Each  truth  is  connected  not  only  w  itli 
other  truths  in  its  own  class,  but  truths  of  the  first 
class  are  connected  with  those  of  the  second,  and 
of  these  parts  thus  united  is  composed  that  admi' 


76       The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

rable  body  of  doctrine  which  forms  the  system  of 
religion. 

There  are  in  religion  some  truths  of  speculation. 
There  is  a  chain  of  doctrines.  God  is  holy  :  this  is 
the  first  truth.  A  holy  God  can  have  no  intimate 
communion  with  unholy  creatures:  this  is  a  second 
truth  which  follows  from  the  first.  God,  who  can 
have  no  communion  with  unholy  creatures  can  have 
no  comnumion  with  men  who  are  unholy  creatures : 
this  is  a  third  truth  which  follow^s  from  the  second. 
Men,  who  are  unholy  creatures,  being  incapable 
as  such  of  communion  with  the  happy  God,  must 
on  that  very  account  be  entirely  miserable  :  this  is 
a  fourth  truth  which  folio avs  from  the  third. 

Men,  who  must  be  absolutely  miserable  because 
they  can  have  no  communion  with  the  holy,  happy 
God,  become  objects  of  the  compassion  of  that  God, 
w^ho  is  as  loving  and  merciful  as  he  is  happy  and 
holy :  this  is  a  fifth  truth  w  hich  follows  from  the 
fourth.  This  loving  and  merciful  God  is  naturally 
inclined  to  relieve  a  multitude  of  his  creatures, 
who  are  ready  to  be  plunged  into  the  deepest  mis- 
eries :  this  is  a  sixth  truth  which  follows  from  the 
fifth. 

Thus  follow  the  thread  of  Jesus  Christ's  theolo- 
gy, and  you  will  find,  as  I  said,  each  part  that  com- 
poseth  it,  depending  on  another,  and  every  one  giv- 
ing another  the  hand.  For,  from  the  loving  and 
merciful  inclination  of  God  to  relieve  a  multitude 
of  his  creatures  from  a  threatening  abyss  of  the 
deepest  miseries,  follows  the  mission  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  because  it  was  fit  that  the  remedy  chosen  of 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge,        77 

God  to  relieve  the  miseries  of  men  should  bear  a 
proportion  to  the  causes  which  produced  it.  From 
the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ's  mission  follows  tlie  ne- 
cessity of  the  Spirit  of  God  :  because  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  men  to  have  discovered  by  tlieir 
own  speculations  the  way  of  salvation,  unless  tliey 
had  been  assisted  by  a  supernatural  revelation,  ac- 
cording to  that  saying,  *' I'iiings  whicli  eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into 
the  heart  of  man,  God  hath  revealed  unto  us  by  his 
spirit,"  1  Cor.  ii.  9,  10.  From  the  doctrines  of  the 
mission  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  of  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  follows  this  most  comfortable  truth, 
that  w^e  are  the  objects  of  the  love  of  God,  even  of 
love  the  most  vehement  and  sincere  tliat  can  be  im- 
agined :  for  "  God  commended  his  love  towards  us, 
in  that  while  we  were  yet  sinners,  Christ  died  for  us," 
Rom.  V.  8.  And,  as  we  are  objects  of  that  love 
which  God  hath  commended  to  us  in  his  Son,  it  fol- 
lows, that  no  bounds  can  be  set  to  our  happiness, 
that  there  is  no  treasure  too  rich  in  the  mines  of  the 
blessed  God,  no  duration  too  long  in  eternity,  no 
communion  with  the  Creator  too  close,  too  intimate, 
too  tender,  w  hich  we  have  not  a  right  to  expect ; 
according  to  that  comfortable,  that  extatic  maxim 
of  St.  Paul;  God,  who  "spared  not  his  own  Son, 
but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not 
with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?"  Rom. 
Tiii.  32. 

This  is  a  chain  of  some  truths  of  the  gospel.  We 
do  not  say  that  it  might  not  be  lengthened  ;  we  do 
not  pretend  to  have  given  a  complete  system  of  the 


78        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge* 

doctrines  of  the  gospel ;  we  only  say  that  the  doc- 
trines proposed  are  closely  connected,  and  that  one 
produceth  another  in  a  system  of  speculative  gospel 
truths. 

In  like  manner,  there  is  a  connection  between 
practical  truths.  The  class  of  practical  truths  is 
connected  with  the  class  of  speculative  truths,  and 
each  practical  truth  is  connected  with  another  prac- 
tical truth. 

The  class  of  practical  truths  is  connected  with  the 
class  of  speculative  truths.  As  soon  as  ever  we  are 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrines  just  now 
mentioned,  we  shall  be  thereby  convinced  that  we 
are  under  an  indispensible  necessity  to  devote  our- 
selves to  holiness.  People,  who  draw  consequen- 
ces from  our  doctrines  injurious  to  morality,  fall 
into  the  most  gross  and  palpable  of  all  contradic- 
tions. The  single  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ's  mis- 
sion naturally  produceth  the  necessity  of  sancti- 
fication.  Ye  believe  that  the  love  of  holiness  is 
so  essential  to  God,  that  rather  than  pardon  crimi- 
nals without  punishing  their  crimes,  he  hath  pun- 
ished his  own  Son.  And  can  ye  believe  that  the 
God  to  whom  holiness  is  so  essential,  will  bear 
Avith  you  while  ye  make  no  efforts  to  be  holy  ? 
Do  not  ye  see  that  in  this  supposition  ye  imagine 
a  contradictory  God,  or  rather,  that  ye  contradict 
yourselves  ?  In  the  first  supposition,  ye  conceive 
a  God  to  whom  sin  is  infinitely  odious :  in  the 
second,  ye  conceive  a  God  to  whom  sin  is  infi- 
nitely tolerable.  In  the  first  supposition,  ye  con- 
reive  a  God,  who,  by  the  holiness  of  his  nature, 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge.       7^ 

exacts  a  satisfaction  :  in  the  second,  ye  conceive  a 
God,  who,  by  the  indifference  of  his  nature,  loves 
the  sinner  while  he  derives  no  motives  from  the  sat- 
isfaction to  forsake  his  sin.  In  the  first  supposition, 
ye  imagine  a  God  who  opposeth  the  strongest  bar- 
riers against  vice  :  in  the  second,  ye  imagine  a  God 
who  removeth  every  obstacle  to  vice  :  nothing  being 
more  likely  to  confirm  men  in  sin  than  an  imagina- 
tion, that,  to  what  length  soever  they  go,  they  may 
always  find,  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God,  an 
infallible  way  of  avoiding  the  punishment  due  to 
their  sin,  whenever  they  shall  have  recourse  to  that 
sacrifice.  Were  it  necessary  to  enlarge  this  article, 
and  to  take  one  doctrine  after  another,  you  w  ould 
see  that  every  doctrine  of  religion  proves  what  Ave 
have  advanced  concerning  the  natural  connection 
of  religious  speculative  truths  with  truths  of  prac- 
tice. 

But,  if  practical  truths  of  religion  are  connected 
with  speculative  truths,  each  of  the  truths  of  prac- 
tice is  also  closely  connected  with  another.  All 
virtues  mutually  support  each  other,  and  there  is 
no  invalidating  one  part  of  our  morality,  without, 
on  that  verv  account,  invalidatino;  the  whole. 

In  our  treatises  of  morality,  we  have  usually  as- 
signed thr^e  objects  to  our  virtues.  The  first  of 
these  objects  is  God :  the  second  is  our  neighbor : 
and  the  third  ourselves.  St.  Paul  is  the  author  of 
this  division.  "  The  grace  of  God  that  bringeth 
salvation,  hath  appeared  to  all  men  ;  teaching  us, 
that  denying  ungodliness,  and  worldly  lusts,  we 
should  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this 


80        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

present  world,"  Titus  ii.  11,  12.  But  all  these  are 
connected  together :  for  we  cannot  live  godly  with- 
out living  at  the  same  time  righteously  and  soberly : 
because  to  live  godly  is  to  perform  what  religion  ap- 
points, and  to  take  that  perfect  Being  for  our  exam- 
ple to  whom  religion  conducts  and  unites  us.  Now 
to  live  as  religion  appoints,  and  to  take  that  perfect 
Being  for  our  pattern  to  whom  religion  conducts 
and  unites  us  is  to  live  righteously  with  our  neigh- 
bour, and  soberly  with  ourselves.  Strictly  speak- 
ing, we  have  not  one  virtue  unless  we  have  all  vir- 
tues; nor  are  we  free  from  one  vice  unless  we  be 
free  from  all  vices:  we  are  not  truly  charitable  un- 
less we  be  truly  just,  nor  are  we  truly  just  unless 
we  be  truly  charitable :  we  are  not  truly  liberal  but 
as  we  avoid  profuseness,  nor  are  we  truly  frugal 
but  as  we  avoid  avarice.  As  I  said  before,  all  vir- 
tues naturally  follow  one  another,  and  afford  each 
other  a  mutual  support. 

Such  is  the  chain  of  religious  truths :  such  is  the 
connection,  not  only  of  each  truth  of  speculation 
with  another  truth  of  speculation,  but  of  specula- 
tive truths  with  the  truths  of  practice.  There  is 
then  a  concatenation,  an  harmony,  a  connection  in 
the  truths  of  religion :  there  is  a  system,  a  body  of 
doctrine  in  the  gospel.  This  is  the  article  that  we 
proposed  to  prove. 

But,  a  religion  in  which  there  is  such  a  chain, 
such  an  harmony  and  connection ;  a  body  of  doc- 
trine so  systematically  compacted  and  united  ought 
not  to  be  taken  by  bits  and  parts. 


The  Perfeclion  of  Christian  Knowledge.       81 

To  illustrate  this  we  may  compare  spiritual  with 
natural  things.  The  more  art  and  ingenuity  there 
is  in  a  macliine  composed  of  diverse  wheels,  the 
more  necessary  it  is  to  consider  it  in  its  whole,  and 
in  all  its  arrangements,  and  the  more  does  its  beau- 
ty escape  our  observation  when  we  confine  our  at- 
tention to  a  single  wheel :  because  the  more  art 
there  is  in  a  machine  the  more  essential  is  the  minu- 
test part  to  its  perfection.  Now  deprive  a  machine 
of  an  essential  part  and  you  deface  and  destroy  it. 

Apply  this  to  spiritual  things.  In  a  compact  sys- 
tem, in  a  coherent  body  of  doctrine,  there  is  no- 
thing useless,  nothing  which  ought  not  to  occupy 
the  very  place  that  the  genius  who  composed  the 
whole  hath  given  it.  What  will  become  of  religion 
if  ye  consider  any  of  its  doctrines  separately  ?  What 
becomes  of  religion  if  ye  consider  the  holiness  of 
God  without  his  justice,  or  his  justice  without  his 
mercy  ? 

II.  Let  us  then  proceed  to  enquii*e  why  so  many 
of  us  confine  ourselves  to  a  small  number  of  reli- 
gious truths,  and  incapacitate  omselves  for  examin- 
ing the  whole  system.  The  fact  is  too  certain. 
Hence,  our  preachers  seem  to  lead  us  in  obscure 
paths,  and  to  lose  us  in  abstract  speculations,  when 
they  treat  of  some  of  the  attributes  of  God,  such 
as  his  faithfulness,  his  love  of  order,  his  regard  for 
his  intelligent  creatures.  It  is  owing  to  this  that  we 
are,  in  some  sense,  well  acquainted  with  some 
truths  of  religion,  while  we  remain  entirely  igno- 
rant of  others,  which  are  equally  plain,  and  equal- 
ly important.    Hence  it  is  that  the  greatest  part  of 

VOL.  I.  11 


82        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge* 

our  sermons  produce  so  little  fruit,  because  sermons 
are,  at  least  they  ought  to  be,  connected  discours- 
es, in  which  the  principle  founds  the  consequence, 
and  the  consequence  follows  the  principle:  all 
which  supposes  in  the  hearers  an  habit  of  meditation 
and  attention.  For  the  same  reason  we  are  apt  to 
be  offended  when  any  body  attempts  to  draw  us  out 
of  the  sphere  of  our  prejudices,  and  are  not  only 
ignorant,  but,  (if  you  will  pardon  the  expression)  ig- 
norant with  gravity,  and  derive  I  know  not  what  glo- 
ry from  our  own  stupidity.  Hence  it  is  that  a  preach- 
er is  seldom  or  never  allowed  to  soar  in  his  sermons, 
to  rise  into  the  contemplation  of  some  lofty  and 
rapturous  objects,  but  must  always  descend  to  the 
Jirst  principles  of  religion,  as  if  he  preached  for  the 
first  time,  or,  as  if  his  auditors  for  the  first  time 
heard.  Hence  also  it  is  that  some  doctrines,  which 
are  true  in  themselves,  demonstrated  in  our  scrip- 
tures, and  essential  to  religion,  become  errors,  yea 
sources  of  many  errors  in  our  mouths,  because  we 
consider  them  only  in  themselves,  and  not  in  con- 
nection with  other  doctrines,  or  in  the  proper  pla- 
ces to  which  they  belong  in  the  system  of  religion. 
This  might  be  easily  proved  in  regard  to  the  doc- 
trines of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  cross,  the  necessity  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
assistance  :  doctrines  true,  demonstrated,  and  essen- 
tial; but  doctrines  which  will  precipitate  us  from 
one  abyss  to  another,  if  we  consider  them  as  our 
people  too  often  consider  them,  and  as  they  have 
been  too  often  considered  in  the  schools,  in  an  ab- 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge.      83 

stract  and  detached  manner.     The  fact  then  is  too 
certain.     Let  us  attend  to  the  principal  causes  of  it. 

Four  principal  causes  may  be  assigned :  1 .  A 
party  spirit.  2.  The  choice  of  teachers.  3.  A  hur- 
ry of  business.  Above  all,  4.  The  love  of  plea- 
sure. As  we  shall  take  the  liberty  of  pointing  out 
the  causes  of  this  malady,  we  shall  also  prescribe 
the  remedy,  whether  our  most  humble  remonstran- 
ces regard  the  people,  the  pastors,  or  even  the  sove- 
reign, whose  noblest  office,  as  well  as  most  sacred 
and  inviolable  duty,  it  is  to  watch  for  the  support 
of  the  truth,  and  the  government  of  the  church. 

1.  The  first  cause  that  we  have  assigned  is  a 
Party-spirit,  This  is  a  disposition  that  cannot  be 
easily  defined,  and  it  w  ould  be  difficult  to  include 
in  a  definition  of  it  even  its  genus  and  species :  It  is 
a  monstrous  composition  of  all  bad  genuses  and  of 
all  bad  species:  It  is  an  hydra  that  reproduceth 
while  it  seemeth  to  destroy  itself,  and  which,  w  hen 
one  head  hath  been  cut  off,  instantly  produceth  a 
thousand  more.  Sometimes  it  is  superstition,  w^hich 
inclines  us  to  deify  certain  idols,  and,  after  having 
formed,  to  prostrate  first  before  them.  Sometimes 
it  is  ignorance  which  prevents  our  perceiving  the 
importance  of  some  revealed  truths,  or  the  dreadful 
consequences  of  some  prejudices  that  we  had  em- 
braced in  childhood.  Sometimes  it  is  arrogance, 
which  rashly  maintains  whatever  it  hath  once  ad- 
vanced, advanced  perhaps  at  first  inconsiderately, 
but  which  will  afterw^ards  be  resolutely  defended 
till  death,  for  no  other  reason  but  because  it  hath 
been  once  asserted,  and  because  it  is  too  mortify- 


84        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge, 

ing  to  yield  and  ^dij  I  am  wrong,  I  was  mistaken. 
Sometimes  it  is  a  spirit  of  malice  and  barbarity, 
which  abhors,  exclaims  against,  persecutes,  and 
would  even  exterminate  all  who  dare  contradict  its 
oracular  propositions.  Oftener  still  it  is  the  union 
of  all  these  vices  together.  A  party-spirit  is  that 
disposition  which  invenoms  so  many  hearts,  sepa- 
rates so  many  families,  divides  so  many  societies, 
which  hath  produced  so  many  excommunications, 
thundered  out  so  many  anathemas,  drawn  up  so 
many  canons,  assembled  so  many  councils,  and  hath 
been  so  often  on  the  point  of  subverting  the  great 
work  of  the  reformation,  the  noblest  opposition 
that  was  ever  formed  against  it. 

This  spirit,  which  we  have  faintly  described, 
must  naturally  incapacitate  a  man  for  considering 
the  whole  of  religion :  it  must  naturally  incline  him 
to  take  it  only  by  bits  and  shreds.  On  the  one  hand, 
it  contracts  the  mind  :  for  how  can  a  soul  that  har- 
boureth  and  cherisheth  all  the  phantoms,  which  a 
party-spirit  produceth,  how  can  such  a  soul  study 
and  meditate  as  religion  requires  ?  On  the  other 
band,  a  party-spirit  depraves  the  heart  and  eradi- 
cates the  desire  of  knowing  religion.  A  man  ani- 
mated with  the  spirit  of  party  directeth  ail  his  at- 
tention to  such  propositions  of  religion  as  seem  to 
favour  his  erroneous  opinions,  and  irregular  pas- 
sions, and  diverts  it  from  all  that  oppose  them  :  his 
system  includes  only  what  strengthens  his  party,  it 
is  exclusive  of  every  thing  that  weakens  or  oppo- 
ses it. 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knoivlcdge.        85 

This  is  the  first  cause  of  the  malady.  The  remedy 
is  easiJy  discovered.  Let  us  divest  ourselves  of  a 
party-spirit.  Let  us  never  determine  an  opinion, 
by  its  agreement  or  disagreement  with  what  our 
masters,  our  parents,  or  our  teachers  have  inculca- 
ted, but  by  its  conformity  or  contrariety  to  the  doc- 
trine of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles.  Let  us  never 
receive  or  reject  a  maxim  because  it  favours  or  op- 
poses our  passions,  but  as  it  agrees  with  or  opposes 
the  laws  of  that  tribunal,  the  basis  of  which  are  jus- 
tice and  truth.  Let  us  be  fully  convinced  that  our 
chief  study  should  be  to  know  what  God  deter- 
mines, and  to  make  his  commands  the  only  rules  of 
our  knowledge  and  practice. 

2.  The  second  cause  of  the  evil  that  ^ve  ^vould 
remove  is  The  choice  of  teachers.  In  general,  we 
have  three  sorts  of  teachers.  The  first  are  cate- 
chists,  who  teach  our  children  the  principles  of  re- 
ligion. The  second  are  ministers.  The  third  pre- 
pare the  minds  of  young  people  for  the  ministry  it- 
self. 

The  carelessness  that  prevails  in  the  choice  of 
the  first  sort  of  teachers  cannot  be  sufficiently  la- 
mented. The  care  of  instructing  our  children  is 
committed  to  people  more  fit  for  disciples  than  mas- 
ters, and  the  meanest  talents  are  thought  more  than 
suflScient  to  teach  the  first  principles  of  religion. 
The  narrowest  and  dullest  genius  is  not  ashamed  to 
profess  himself  a  divine  and  a  catechist.  And  yet 
what  capacity  does  it  not  require  to  lay  the  first 
foundations  of  the  edifice  of  salvation !  What  ad- 
dress to  take  the  different  forms  necessary  to  in  sin- 


86       The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge, 

ilate  into  the  minds  of  catechumens,  and  to  concili- 
ate their  attention  and  love!  What  dexterity  to 
proportion  instruction  to  the  different  ages  and 
characters  of  learners !  How  much  knowledge,  and 
how  many  accomplishments  are  necessary  to  dis- 
cern what  is  fundamental  to  a  youth  of  fifteen  years 
of  age  !  What  one  child  of  superior  talents  cannot 
be  ignorant  of  without  danger,  and  what  another  of 
inferior  talents  may  remain  innocently  unacquaint- 
ed with!  Heads  of  families,  this  article  concerns 
you  in  a  particular  manner.  W  hat  account  can 
ye  render  to  God  of  the  children  with  whom  he  hath 
intrusted  you,  if,  while  ye  take  so  much  pains,  and 
are  at  so  much  expense  to  teach  them  the  liberal 
arts,  and  to  accjuaint  them  with  human  sciences,  ye 
discover  so  much  negligence  in  teaching  them  the 
knowledge  of  salvation  ?  Not  only  in  a  future  state 
ought  ye  to  fear  the  punishment  of  so  criminal  a 
conduct ;  ye  will  be  punished  in  this  present  world. 
Children  ignorant  of  religion  will  but  little  under- 
stand their  duty  to  their  parents.  They  will  be- 
come the  cross,  as  they  will  be  the  shame  and  infa- 
my of  your  life.  They  will  shake  off  your  yoke 
as  soon  as  they  have  passed  their  childhood,  they 
Avill  abandon  you  to  the  weaknesses,  infirmities,  and 
disquietudes  of  old  age,  Avhen  you  arrive  at  that  dis- 
tasteful period  of  life,  which  can  be  rendered  agree- 
able only  by  the  care,  the  tenderness,  and  assiduity 
of  a  well-bred  son.  Let  us  unite  all  our  endeav- 
ours, my  dear  brethren,  to  remove  this  evil.  Let 
us  honour  an  employment  which  nothing  but  the 
licentiousness  of  the  age  could  have  rendered  con- 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knorvledge.       87 

temptible.  Let  us  consider  that,  as  one  of  the  most 
important  trusts  of  the  state,  one  of  the  most  res- 
pectable posts  of  society,  which  is  appointed  to  in- 
still religious  principles  in  our  children,  to  inspire 
them  with  piety,  to  guard  them  against  the  snares 
that  they  will  meet  with  in  the  world,  and,  by  these 
means,  to  render  them  dutiful  in  childhood,  faithful 
in  conjugal  life,  tender  parents,  good  citizens,  and 
able  magistrates. 

The  pastors  of  our  churches  are  our  second  class 
of  teachers.  I  know  that  all  our  siifjUdency  is  of 
God,  2  Cor.  iii.  5.  that  though  Paul  may  plant,  and 
Apollos  water,  God  only  giveth  the  increase :  that 
holy  men,  considering  the  end  of  the  ministry,  have 
exclaimed.  Who  is  siifficient  for  these  things  ?  1  Cor. 
iii.  6.  Yet  the  ordinary  means  which  God  useth 
for  the  conversion  of  sinners  are  the  ministry  of  thq 
word,  and  the  qualifications  of  ministers,  for  faith 
cometh  hy  hearing,  Rom.  x.  17.  Now  this  word,  my 
brethren,  is  not  preached  with  equal  power  by  all ; 
and,  though  the  foundation  which  each  lays  be  the 
same,  it  is  too  true  that  some  huiM  upon  this  foun- 
dation the  gold  and  precious  stones  of  a  solid  and 
holy  doctrine,  while  others  build  with  the  ivood,  hai/y 
and  stuhhle,  1  Cor.  iii.  12.  of  their  own  errors,  the 
productions  of  a  confused  imagination  and  a  mis- 
taken eloquence.  And  as  the  word  is  not  preached 
with  the  same  power,  so  it  is  not  attended  with  the 
same  success. 

But  when  the  word  proceeds  from  the  mouth  of 
a  man  whom  God  hath  sealed,  and  enriched  with 
extraordinary  talents,  when  it  proceeds  from  a  man. 


88        The  Perfection  of  ChrisUan  Knowledge. 

who  hath  the  tongue  of  the  learned  and  the  wisdom  of 
the  wise,  as  the  scripture  speaks,  Isa.  1.  4.  When 
it  proceeds  from  a  Boanerges,  a  son  of  thunder, 
from  a  IVloses,  mighty  in  words  and  in  deeds,  Mark 
iii.  17.  Acts  vii.  22.  who  maintains  the  dignity  of 
his  doctrine  by  the  purity  of  his  morals,  and  by 
the  power  of  his  good  example,  then  the  word  is 
heard  with  attention  ;  from  the  ear  it  passeth  to  the 
mind ,  from  the  mind  to  the  heart,  from  the  heart 
to  the  life  :  it  penetrates,  it  inflames,  it  transports. 
It  becomes  a  hammer  breaking  the  hardest  hearts,  a 
two-edged  sword,  dividing  the  father  from  the  son, 
the  son  from  the  father,  dissolving  all  the  bonds  of 
flesh  and  blood,  the  connections  of  nature,  and  the 
love  of  self. 

What  precaution,  what  circumspection,  and,  in 
some  sort,  what  dread  ought  to  prevail  in  the  choice 
of  an  office,  which  so  greatly  influences  the  salva- 
tion of  those  among  whom  it  is  exercised !  There 
needs  only  the  bad  system  of  a  pastor  to  produce 
and  preserve  thousands  of  false  notions  of  religion 
in  the  people's  minds  :  notions,  which  fifty  years  la- 
bours of  a  more  wise  and  sensible  ministry  will 
scarcely  be  able  to  eradicate.  There  needs  only  a 
pastor  sold  to  sordid  interest  to  put  up,  in  some  sort, 
salvation  to  sale,  and  to  regulate  places  in  paradise 
according  to  the  diligence  or  negligence  with  which 
the  people  gratify  the  avarice  of  him  who  distri- 
butes them.  There  needs  only  a  pastor  fretted  with 
envy  and  jealousy  against  his  brethren  to  poison 
their  ministry  by  himself,  or  by  his  emissaries. 
Yea  sometimes,  there  needs  onlv  the  want  of  some 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge,       89 

less  essential  talents  in  a  minister  to  give  advantage 
to  the  enemies  of  religion,  and  to  deprive  the  truths 
which  he  preaches  of  that  profound  respect  which 
is  their  due ;  a  respect  that  even  enemies  could  not 
withhold,  if  the  gospel  were  properly  preached, 
and  its  truths  exhibited  in  their  true  point  of  view. 

It  would  be  unreasonable  perhaps  to  develope 
this  article  now.     How  many  of  our  people  would 
felicitate  themselves  if  we  were  to  furnish  them 
Avith  pretences  for  imputing  their  unfruitfulness  to 
those  who  cultivate  them  ?  But,  if  this  article  must 
not  be  developed,  what  grave  remonstrances,  what 
pressing  exhortations,  what  fervent  prayers  should 
it  occasion  ?    Let  the  heads  of  families  consider  the 
heinousness  of  their  conduct  in  presuming  to  offer 
impure    victims  to  the  Lord,  and  in  consecrating 
those  children  to  the  holy  ministry,  in  whom  they 
cannot  but  discover  dispositions  that  render  them 
unworthy  of  it.      May  ecclesiastical  bodies  never 
assemble  for  the  election  of  pastors  without  making 
profound  reflections  on  the  importance  of  the  ser- 
vice in  which  they  are  engaged,  and  the  greatness 
of  the  trust  which  the  sovereign  commits  to  them: 
May  they  never  ordain  without  recollecting,  that, 
to  a  certain  degree,  they  will  be  responsible  for  all 
the  sad  consequences  of  a  faithless  or  a  fruitless 
ministry  :    May  they  always  prostrate  on  these  oc- 
casions before  God,  as  the  apostles  in  the  same  case 
did,  and  pray.  Lord  shew  whom  thou  hast  chosen. 
Acts  i.  24.     May  our  rulers  and  magistrates  be  af- 
fected with  the  worth  of  those  souls  whom  the  pas- 
tors instruct ;  and  may  they  unite  all  their  piety,  all 
VOL.  I.  12 


90        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge, 

their  pity,  and  all  their  power  to  procure  holy 
men,  who  may  adorn  so  eminent,  so  venerable  a 
post. 

What  hath  been  said  on  the  choice  of  pastors  still 
more  particularly  regards  the  election  of  tutors, 
who  are  employed  to  form  pastors  themselves. 
Universities  are  public  springs,  whence  rivulets 
flow  into  all  the  church.  Place  at  the  head  of  these 
bodies  sound  philosophers,  good  divines,  wise  ca- 
suists, and  they  will  become  seminaries  of  pastors 
after  God's  heart,  who  will  form  the  minds,  and  reg- 
ulate the  morals  of  the  people,  gently  bowing  them 
to  the  yoke  of  religion.  On  the  contrary,  place  men. 
of  another  character  at  the  head  of  our  universities, 
and  they  will  send  out  impoisoned  ministers,  who 
w  ill  diffuse  through  the  whole  church  the  fatal  ven- 
om which  themselves  have  imbibed. 

3.  The  third  cause  which  we  have  assigned,  of 
the  infancy  and  noviciate  of  most  Christians  in  reli- 
gious knowledge,  is  the  multitude  of  their  secular 
affairs.  Far  be  it  from  us  to  aim  at  inspiring  you 
with  superstitious  maxims.  We  do  not  mean  that 
they  who  fill  eminent  posts  in  society  should  devote 
that  time  to  devotion  which  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity requires.  We  allow,  that  in  some  critical 
conjunctures,  the  time  appointed  for  devotion  must 
be  yielded  to  business.  There  are  some  urgent  oc- 
casions when  it  is  more  necessary  to  fight  than  to 
pray :  there  are  times  of  important  business  in 
which  the  closet  must  be  sacrificed  to  the  cares  of 
life,  and  second  causes  must  be  attended  to  even 
when  one  Avould  wish  to  be  occupied  only  about 


The  Pcrfeclion  of  Christian  Knoivledge,       91 

the  first.  Yet,  after  all,  the  duty  that  we  recom- 
mend is  indispensable.  Amidst  the  most  turbulent 
solicitudes  of  life,  a  Christian  desirous  of  being  sav- 
ed, will  devote  some  time  to  his  salvation.  Some 
part  of  the  day  he  will  redeem  from  the  world  and 
society,  to  meditate  on  eternity.  This  was  the 
practice  of  those  eminent  saints,  whose  lives  are 
proposed  as  patterns  to  us.  The  histories  of  Abra- 
ham, Moses,  Samuel,  and  David,  are  well  known, 
and  ye  recollect  those  parts  of  their  lives  to  which 
we  refer,  without  our  detaining  you  in  a  repetition 
now. 

The  last  cause  of  the  incapacity  of  so  many 
Christians  for  seeing  the  whole  of  religion  in  its  con- 
nection and  harmony:  the  last  cause  of  their  ta- 
king it  only  by  bits  and  shreds,  is  their  love  of  sen- 
sual pleasure.  We  do  not  speak  here  of  those  gross 
pleasures  at  which  heathens  would  have  blushed, 
and  which  are  incompatible  with  Christianity.  We 
attack  pleasures  more  refined,  maxims  for  which 
reasonable  persons  become  sometimes  apologists : 
persons  who  on  more  accounts  than  one,  are  wor- 
thy of  being  proposed  as  examples :  persons  who 
would  seem  to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth,  the  flower  of 
society,  and  whom  we  cannot  justly  accuse  of  not 
loving  religion.  How  rational,  how  religious  soev- 
er they  appear  in  other  cases,  they  make  no  scruple 
of  passing  a  great  part  of  their  time  in  gaming,  in 
public  diversions,  in  a  round  of  worldly  amuse- 
ments ;  in  pleasures,  which  not  only  appear  harm- 
less, but  in  some  sort,  suitable  to  their  rank,  and 
which  seem  criminal  only  to  those  who  think  it  their 


92        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

duty  not  to  float  on  the  surface  of  religion,  but  to 
examine  the  whole  that  it  requires  of  men,  on  whom 
God  hath  bestowed  the  inestimable  favour  of  re- 
vealing it.  We  may  presume,  that  if  we  shew  peo- 
ple of  this  sort,  that  this  way  of  life  is  one  of  the 
principal  obstacles  to  their  progress  in  religion,  and 
prevents  their  knowing  all  its  beauties,  and  relish- 
ing all  its  delights,  we  shall  not  speak  without  suc- 
cess. In  order  to  this,  pardon  me  if  I  conjure  you 
to  hear  this  article,  not  only  with  attention,  but  with 
that  impartiality  which  alone  can  enable  you  to 
know  whether  we  utter  our  own  speculations,  or 
preach  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Recollect  here 
that  general  notion  of  religion  which  we  have  laid 
down  :  it  contains  truths  of  speculation,  and  truths 
of  practice.  Such  sensual  pleasures  as  we  have 
just  now  mentioned,  form  invincible  obstacles  to  the 
knowledge  of  both. 

I.  To  the  knowledge  of  speculative  truths. 
How  is  it  possible  for  a  man  to  obtain  a  complete 
system  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  while  he  is  a 
slave  to  sensual  pleasures  ? 

1.  To  obtain  a  complete  system  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel  there  must  be  a  certain  habit  of  think- 
ing and  meditating.  In  vain  ye  turn  over  whole 
volumes,  in  vain  ye  attend  methodical  sermons,  in 
vain  ye  parade  with  bodies  of  divinity,  ye  can  nev- 
er comprehend  the  connection  of  religious  truths 
unless  ye  acquire  a  habit  of  arranging  ideas,  of  lay- 
ing down  principles,  of  deducing  consequences,  in 
short  of  forming  systems  yourselves.  This  habit 
cannot  be  accj[uired  without  exercise,  it  is  unattaina- 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge,        93 

ble  without  serious  attention,  and  profound  appli- 
cation. But  how  can  people  devoted  to  pleasure 
acquire  such  a  habit  ?  Sensual  pleasure  is  an  inex- 
haustible source  of  dissipation :  it  dissipates  in  pre- 
paring, it  dissipates  in  studying,  it  dissipates  after 
the  study  is  at  an  end. 

2.  To  counterbalance  the  difficulty  of  medita- 
tion and  study  there  must  be  a  relish  for  it.  Those 
who  make  study  a  duty,  or  a  trade,  seldom  make 
any  great  progress  in  knowledge  :  at  least  a  prodi- 
gious difference  has  always  been  observed  between 
the  proficiency  of  those  who  study  by  inclination, 
and  those  who  study  by  necessity.  But  nothing  is 
more  capable  of  disgusting  us  with  the  spiritual 
pleasures  of  study  and  meditation  than  the  love  of 
sensual  pleasures.  We  will  not  intrude  into  the 
closets  of  these  persons.  But  is  there  not  a  prodi- 
gious difference  between  their  application  to  study 
and  their  attention  to  pleasure  ?  The  one  is  a  vio- 
lence offered  to  themselves,  the  other  a  voluptuous- 
ness after  which  they  sigh.  The  one  is  an  intolerable 
burden  eagerly  shaken  off  as  soon  as  the  time  ap- 
pointed expires :  The  other  is  a  delicious  gratitica- 
tion,  from  which  it  is  painful  to  part  when  nature 
exhausted  can  support  it  no  longer,  or  troublesome 
duty  demands  a  cessation.  In  the  one,  hours  and 
moments  are  counted,  and  the  happiest  period  is 
that  which  terminates  the  pursuit :  but  in  tlie  oth- 
er, time  glides  away  imperceptibly,  and  people  wish 
for  the  power  of  prolonging  the  course  of  the  day, 
and  the  duration  of  life. 


94        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

3.  To  acquire  a  complete  knowledge  of  religious 
truths,  it  is  not  enough  to  study  them  in  the  closet, 
in  retirement  and  silence ;  we  must  converse  with 
others  w^io  study  them  too.  But  the  love  of  sen- 
sual pleasure  indisposes  us  for  such  conversations. 
Slaves  to  sensual  pleasures  have  but  little  taste  for 
those  delicious  societies,  whose  mutual  bond  is  utili- 
ty, in  which  impartial  inquirers  propose  their  doubts, 
raise  their  objections,  communicate  their  discov- 
eries, and  reciprocally  assist  each  other's  edifica- 
tion :  For  deprive  those  who  love  sensual  pleasures, 
of  gaming  and  diversions,  conversation  instantly 
languishes,  and  converse  is  at  an  end. 

But  secondly,  if  the  love  of  sensual  pleasure 
raise  such  great  obstacles  to  the  knowledge  of  spec- 
ulative truths,  it  raise th  incomparably  greater  still 
to  the  truths  of  practice.  There  are  some  scripture- 
maxims  which  are  never  thought  of  by  the  persons 
in  question,  except  it  be  to  enervate  and  destroy 
them,  at  least,  they  make  no  part  of  their  system 
of  morality. 

In  your  system  of  morality,  what  becomes  of 
this  scripture-maxim,  evil  communications  corrupt 
good  manners  ?  1  Cor.  xv.  33.  Nothing  forms  con- 
nections more  intimate,  and  at  the  same  time,  more 
extravagant  than  an  immoderate  love  of  pleasure. 
Men  who  differ  in  manners,  age,  religion,  birth, 
principles,  educations,  are  all  united  by  this  bond. 
The  passionate  and  the  moderate,  the  generous  and 
the  avaricious,  the  young  and  the  old  agree  to  ex- 
ercise a  mutual  condescension  and  patience  towards 
each  other,  because  the  same  spirit  actuates,  and 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge,       95 

the  same  necessities  haunt  them  ;  and  because  the 
love  of  pleasure,  which  animates  them  all,  can  on- 
ly be  gratified  by  the  concurrence  of  each  indi- 
vidual. 

In  your  system  of  morality,  what  become  of  those 
maxims  of  scripture,  which  say  that  we  must  con- 
fess Jesus  Christ  before  men^  that  whosoever  shall  he 
ashamed  of  him  before  men,  of  him  will  he  be  asham- 
ed  when  he  cometh  in  the  glory  of  his  father  ?  Mat.  x. 
32.  Mark  viii.  38.  A  man  w  ho  is  engaged  in  the 
monstrous  assembly  which  the  love  of  pleasure 
forms,  must  hear  religion  disputed,  the  morality  of 
the  gospel  attacked,  good  manners  subverted,  the 
name  of  God  blasphemed  :  and  he  must  hear  all 
these  without  daring  to  discover  the  sentiments  of 
his  heart,  because  as  I  just  now  observed,  patience 
and  compliance  animate  that  body  to  which  he  is 
attached  by  such  necessary  and  intimate  ties. 

In  your  system  of  morality,  what  become  of  those 
scripture-maxims,  which  threaten  those  with  the 
greatest  punishments  who  injure  others  ?  The  love 
of  sensual  pleasure  causeth  offences  of  the  most 
odious  kind ;  I  mean,  it  betrays  your  partners  in 
pleasure  into  vice.  Ye  game  without  avarice  ;  but 
do  ye  not  excite  avarice  in  the  minds  of  those  who 
play  with  you  ?  Ye  do  not  injure  your  families  ; 
but  do  ye  not  occasion  other  men  to  injure  theirs  ? 
Ye  are  guilty  of  no  fraud ;  but  do  ye  not  tempt 
others  to  be  fraudulent  ? 

What  become  in  your  moral  system  of  those 
maxims  of  scripture  that  require  us  to  contribute  to 
the  excision  of  all  wicked  doers  from  the  city  of  the 


96        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

Lord,  Psal.  ci.  8.  to  discountenance  those  who  com- 
mit a  crime  as  well  as  to  renounce  it  ourselves  ? 
The  love  of  sensual  pleasure  makes  us  countenance 
people  of  the  most  irregular  conduct,  whose  snares 
are  the  most  dangerous,  whose  examples  are  the 
most  fatal,  whose  conversations  are  the  most  per- 
nicious to  our  children  and  to  our  families,  to  civil 
society  and  to  the  church  of  God. 

In  your  system  of  morality,  what  become  of 
those  maxims  of  scripture  which  expostulate  with 
us,  when  the  Lord  chastiseth  us,  to  be  afflicted  and 
mourn,  to  humble  ourselves  under  the  mighty  hand  of 
God  J  to  enter  into  our  chambers,  and  shid  the  doors 
about  us,  to  hide  ourselves  until  the  indignation  be 
overpast ;  to  examine  ourselves  before  the  decree  bring 
forth  ;  to  prepare  ourselves  to  meet  our  God  ;  to  hear 
the  rod  and  7vho  hath  appointed  it,  James  iv.  9.  1  Pet. 
V.  6.  Isa.  XX vi.  20.  Zeph.  ii.  1,  2.  Amos  iv.  12.  Mi- 
cah  vi.  9.  to  mourn  in  sackcloth  and  ashes ;  and 
while  we  feel  present  miseries,  to  remember  those 
that  are  past,  tremble  for  those  that  are  to  come, 
and  endeavor  by  extraordinary  efforts  to  avert  the 
anger  of  heaven  ?  The  love  of  sensual  pleasure 
turns  away  people's  attention  from  all  these  max- 
ims, and  represents  those  who  preach  them  as  wild 
visionaries,  or  dry  declaimers.  The  people  of 
whom  we  speak,  these  pious  people,  these  people 
who  love  their  salvation,  these  people  who  pretend 
to  the  glory  of  being  proposed  for  examples,  can 
in  times  of  the  deepest  distress,  when  tlie  church  is 
bathed  in  tears,  while  the  arm  of  God  is  crushing 
our  brethren  and  our  allies,  when  the  same  terrible 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge.        97 

arm  is  lifted  over  us,  when  we  are  threatened  with 
extreme  miseries,  when  the  scourges  of  God  are  at 
om'  gates,  when  there  needs  only  the  arrival  of  one 
ship,  the  blowing  of  one  wind,  the  wafting  of  one 
blast,  to  convey  pestilence  and  plague  into  our 
country ;  these  people  can  .  .  .  *  .  O  God ! 
open  their  eyes  that  they  may  see  !  2  Kings  vi.  17. 

In  your  system  of  morality,  what  become  of 
scripture  exhortations  to  "  redeem  the  time,  to 
know  the  time  of  our  visitation,  to  do  all  that  our 
hands  find  to  do,  because  there  is  no  work,  nor  de- 
vice, nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom  in  the  grave  whith- 
er we  go  ?"  The  love  of  pleasure  inclines  mortals, 
who  may  die  in  a  few  days,  people  who  perhaps 
have  only  a  few  days  to  bid  their  last  adieus,  to  em- 
brace their  families,  to  settle  their  temporal  affairs, 
to  examine  the  neglected  parts  of  religion,  to  re- 
establish the  injured  reputation  of  a  neighbour,  in  a 
word,  to  prepare  themselves  to  appear  before  that 
terrible  tribunal  to-  which  death  cites  them :  the 
love  of  sensual  pleasure  inclines  these  poor  crea- 
tures, who  have  so  short  a  time  to  live  and  so  great 
a  task  to  perform ;  the  love  of  sensual  pleasure  in- 
clines these  people  to  waste  a  considerable  part  of 
this  fleeting  life  in  amusements,  that  obliterate  both 
the  shortness  of  life,  and  the  necessity  of  death. 

How  often  have  we  seen  old  age  as  greedy  of 
pleasure  as  youth  ?  how  often  have  we  seen  people 
bowing  under  the  weight  of  age,  how  often  have  we 
seen  them,  even  when  then*  trembling  hands  could 
scarcely  hold  the  cards,  or  the  dice,  make  their  fee- 
ble efforts  to  game ;  and,  when  their  decayed  eyes 

VOL.   I,  13 


98        The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

were  incapable  of  distinguishing  the  spots,  assist 
nature  by  art,  their  natural  sight  with  artificial  glas- 
ses, and  thus  consecrate  the  remains,  those  precious 
remains  of  life  to  gaming,  which  God  had  granted 
for  repentance. 

All  these  causes  of  the  infancy  and  noviciate  of 
Christians  in  regard  to  religion,  unite  in  one,  which, 
in  finishing  this  discourse,  we  cannot  but  lament, 
nor  can  we  lament  it  too  much.  We  do  not  under- 
stand our  own  religion  :  we  are,  most  of  us,  inca- 
pable of  perceiving  the  admirable  order,  the  beau- 
tiful symmetry  of  its  component  parts.  Why  ?  It 
is  because  we  have  so  little  zeal  for  our  salvation ; 
it  is  because  we  form  such  languid  desires  to  be  sav- 
ed. 

Indeed  I  know,  that,  except  some  unnatural  crea- 
tures, except  some  monsters,  to  whom  this  discourse 
is  not  addressed,  every  body  professes  to  desire  to 
be  saved,  yea,  to  prefer  salvation  to  Avhatever  is 
most  pompous  in  the  universe,  and  most  pleasant 
in  this  life.  But,  when  the  attainment  of  it  in  God's 
way  is  in  question,  in  the  only  way  that  agrees  with 
the  holiness  of  his  nature  to  direct,  and  with  our 
happiness  to  obey,  what  a  number  of  people  do  we 
meet  with  whose  desires  vanish  ?  I  desire  to  be  sav- 
ed, says  each  to  himself,  I  desire  to  be  saved,  but 
not  by  such  a  religion  as  the  gospel  prescribes, 
such  as  Jesus  Christ  preached,  such  as  the  apos- 
tles and  ministers  of  the  gospel  preach  after  him ; 
but  I  desire  to  be  saved  by  such  a  religion  as  I  have 
conceived,  such  an  one  as  gratifies  my  passions  and 
caprices,     I  desire  to  be  saved,  but  it  is  on  condi- 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge,         99 

tion,  that,  while  I  obey  some  of  the  precepts  of 
Jesus  Christ,  he  will  dispense  with  my  obedience 
of  others.  I  desire  to  be  saved :  but  not  on  con- 
ditioji  of  my  correcting  my  prejudices,  and  subiiiit- 
ting  them  to  the  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  on 
condition  that  the  precepts  of  Jesus  Ciirist  should 
yield  to  my  prejudices.  I  desire  to  be  saved :  but 
on  condition  of  retaining  my  prepossessions,  tlie 
system  that  I  have  arranged,  tl«e  way  of  life  that  I 
pursue,  and  intend  to  pursue  till  I  die.  To  desire 
salvation  in  this  manner  is  too  common  a  disposition 
among  Christians.  But  to  desire  salvation  in  saying 
to  God,  with  a  sincere  desire  of  obeying  his  voice, 
Lordy  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?  Acts  ix.  6. 
Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  believe  ?  Lord, 
what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  love  ?  Lord,  what  incli- 
nations wilt  thou  have  me  to  oppose,  to  mortify,  to 
sacritice  ?  To  be  willing  to  be  saved  in  receiving, 
without  exception,  all  the  practical  truths,  which 
compose  an  essential  part  of  that  religion  which 
God  hath  given  us :  Ah  !  my  brethren,  how  rare  is 
this  disposition  among  Christians ! 

Without  this  disposition  however,  (and  let  us  not 
be  ingenious  to  deceive  ourselves)  without  this  dis- 
position there  is  no  salvation.  It  implies  a  contra- 
diction to  say  that  God  will  save  us  in  any  other 
way  :  for  as  it  is  contradictory  to  say  that  he  will 
give  to  an  equal  number  the  qualities  of  an  unequal 
number,  or  to  bodies  the  properties  of  spirits,  or  to 
spirits  the  properties  of  bodies ;  so  also  is  it  a  con- 
tradiction to  say  that  vice  shall  reap  the  rewards  of 
virtue,  that  the  highway  to  hell  is  the  path  io  para^ 
dise. 


100      The  Perfection  of  ChrisUan  Knowledge. 

So  that  nothing  remains  in  concluding  this  dis- 
course but  to  ask  you,  what  are  your  intentions  ? 
What  designs  have  ye  formed  ?  What  projects  do 
ye  resolve  to  pursue  ?  What  are  your  aims  ?  H  ave 
ye  any  thing  more  precious  than  your  souls  ?  Can 
ye  conceive  a  nobler  hope  than  that  of  being  saved  ? 
Can  ye  propose  a  more  advantageous  end  than  your 
own  salvation  ?  Can  ye  persuade  yourselves  that 
there  is  a  greater  felicity  than  the  fruition  of  God  ? 
Will  ye  destroy  yourselves  ?  Do  ye  renounce  those 
delightful  hopes  that  are  set  before  you  in  the  gos- 
pel ?  And  shall  all  the  fruit  of  our  ministry  be  to 
accuse  and  confound  you  before  God  ? 

Young  man,  thou  mayest  live  fiiiy  or  sixty  years: 
but  at  the  expiration  of  those  fifty  or  sixty  years, 
time  finishes  and  eternity  begins.  People  of  ma- 
ture age,  your  race  is  partly  run ;  ten,  fifteen, 
or  twenty  years  more,  through  the  dissipations 
and  employments  inseparable  from  your  lives, 
w  ill  vanish  with  an  inconceivable  rapidity ;  and 
then,  time  finishes  and  eternity  begins  with  you. 
And  ye  old  people,  a  few  years,  a  few  months, 
a  few  days  more,  and  behold  your  race  is  at  an 
end;  behold  your  time  finishes  and  your  eternity 
begins.  And  can  we  resist  this  idea  !  Alas  !  what 
hearts !   what  Christians !    what  a  Church ! 

Grant  Almighty  God  that  our  prayers  may  sup- 
ply the  defect  of  our  exhortations ;  may  we  derive 
from  thy  bosom  of  infinite  mercies  what  we  despair 
of  obtaining  from  the  insensibility  of  our  hearers ! 
O  thou  Author  of  religion,  thou  divine  Spirit,  from 
whom  alone  could  proceed  this  beautiful  system 


The  Perfection  of  Christian  Knowledge.      101 

which  thou  hast  condescended  to  reveal  to  us,  im- 
press it  in  all  its  parts  on  our  minds.  Pluck  up 
every  plant  which  thy  good  hand  hath  not  planted. 
Triumph  over  all  the  obstacles  that  our  sins  oppose 
to  thine  empire.  Shut  the  gulfs  of  helL  Open  the 
gates  of  heaven.  Save  us,  even  in  spite  of  our- 
selves.    Amen. 

To  the  Father,  to  the  Son,  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  honour  and  glory,  dominion  and  power  for  ever. 
Amen. 


SERMON  II. 


The  Eternity  of  God. 

Preached  in  the  French  Church  at  Rotterdam  on  the  first  Lord's 
Day  of  the  Year  1724. 


2  Peter  iii.  8. 

Beloved,  he  not  ignorant  of  this  one  thing,  that  one 
day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a 
thousand  years  as  one  day, 

W  E  could  not  meditate  on  the  words  which  you 
have  heard,  my  brethren,  without  recollecting  that 
miraculous  cloud  which  conducted  the  Israelites 
through  the  desert.  It  was  all  luminous  on  one 
side,  and  all  opake'  on  the  other.^  The  Jews  say 
that  it  was  the  throne,  or  the  triumphal  chariot  of 
that  Angel  who  marched  at  the  head  of  the  camp 
of  Israel ;  of  that  Angel  whom  they  call  the  Prince 
of  the  world,  the  Shekinah,  the  presence  of  the  divine 
Majesty,  the  IJeity  itself.  It  is  not  needful  to  ex- 
amine this  opinion.  I  do  not  know  >vhether  the 
pillar  of  a  cloud  were  a  throne  of  God,  but  it  was  a 
beautiful  symbol  of  the  Deity.  What  is  the  Deity 
in  regard  to  us  ?  If  it  be  the  most  radiant  of  all 
light,  it  is  at  the  same  time  the  most  covered  w^ith 

*  See  Rabbi  Menachem  in  Parasch.  Beschalec.  Exod.  xiv.  19. 
fol.  63.  edit.de  Venise5283,  S. 


104  The  Eternity  of  God, 

darkness.  Let  the  greatest  philosophers,  let  the 
most  extraordinary  geniusses  elevate  their  rnedita- 
tations,  and  take  the  loftiest  flights  of  which  they 
are  capable,  in  order  to  penetrate  into  the  nature  of 
the  divine  essence,  the  stronger  efforts  they  make 
io  understand  this  fearful  subject,  the  more  will 
they  be  absorbed  in  it :  the  nigher  they  approach 
the  rays  of  this  sun,  the  more  will  they  be  dazzled 
with  its  lustre.  But  yet,  let  the  feeblest  and  most 
confined  genius  seek  instructions,  in  meditating  on 
the  divine  grandeurs,  to  direct  his  faith,  to  regulate 
his  conduct,  and  to  sweeten  the  miseries  that  imbit- 
ter  this  valley  of  t^ars ;  he  shall  happily  experience 
what  the  prophet  did :  does  he  look  to  him  1  he  shall 
he  lightened,  Ps.  xxxiv.  5. 

God  presents  himself  to  your  eyes  to-day,  as  he 
once  presented  himself  to  the  Israelites  in  that  mar- 
vellous phenomenon.  Light  on  one  side,  darkness 
on  the  other.  "  A  thousand  years  are  w^ith  the  Lord 
as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years."  Let 
the  greatest  philosophers,  let  those  extraordinary 
beings  in  whose  formation  God  seems  to  have  uni- 
ted an  angelic  intelligence  to  a  human  body,  let 
them  preach  in  our  stead,  let  them  fully  explain  the 
words  of  my  text.  From  what  abysses  of  exist- 
ence does  the  perfect  Being  derive  that  duration, 
which  alike  overspreads  the  present,  the  future,  and 
the  past  ?  how  conceive  a  continuation  of  existence 
without  conceiving  a  succession  of  time  ?  how  con- 
ceive a  succession  of  time,  without  conceiving  that 
he  who  is  subject  to  it  acquires  what  he  had  not  be- 
fore ?  how  affirm  that  he  who  acquires  what  he  had 


The  Ekrnity  of  God.  105 

not  before,  considers  "  a  thousand  years  as  one 
day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years  ?"  So  many 
questions,  so  many  abysses,  obscurities,  darknes- 
ses for  poor  mortals. 

Eut  if  ye  confine  yourselves  to  a  conviction  of 
the  truth  of  the  words  of  my  text ;  particularly,  if 
ye  desire  to  consider  them  in  regard  to  the  influ- 
ence which  they  ought  to  have  on  your  conduct, 
ye  will  behold  light  issuing  from  every  part,  nor  is 
there  any  one  in  this  assembly  who  may  not  ap- 
proach it  with  confidence.  This  has  encouraged  us 
to  turn  our  attention  to  a  subject,  which,  at  first 
sight,  seems  more  likely  to  confound,  than  to  edi- 
fy us. 

St.  Peter  aims  to  rouse  the  piety  of  Christians  by 
the  idea  of  that  great  day  wherein  the  world  must 
be  reduced  to  ashes;  when  new  heavens  and  a 
new  earth  shall  appear  to  the  children  of  God. 
Libertines  regarded  that  day  as  a  chimera.  WherCy 
said  they,  is  the  promise  of  the  Lord's  coming :  for 
since  the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue  as 
they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation  ?  2  Pet. 
iii.  4.  ^'C.  The  words  of  my  text  are  an  answer 
to  this  objection ;  an  idea  which  we  will  presently 
explain,  but  which  ye  must,  at  least  in  a  vague  man- 
ner, retain  all  along,  if  ye  mean  to  follow  us  in  this 
discourse,  in  which  we  would  wish  to  include  all 
the  different  views  of  the  Apostle.  In  order  to 
which  three  things  are  necessary. 

I.  We  will  examine  our  text  in  itself,  and  endea- 
vour to  establish  this  proposition,  That  one  day  is 

VOL.   I.  14 


106  The  Eternity  of  God. 

with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand 
years  as  one  day, 

II.  We  will  prove  what  w^e  have  advanced  : 
That  is,  That  St.  Peter's  design  in  these  w  ords  was 
to  answer  the  objections  of  libertines  against  the 
doctrine  of  the  conflagration  of  the  world :  and  we 
will  shew  you  that  they  completely  answer  the 
purpose. 

III.  We  w^ill  draw  from  this  doctrine,  secured 
against  the  objections  of  libertines,  such  motives  to 
piety  as  the  Apostle  presents  us  with. 

In  considering  these  w^ords  in  this  point  of  light, 
we  will  apply  them  to  your  present  circumstances. 
The  renewal  of  the  year,  properly  understood,  is 
only  the  anniversary  of  the  vanity  of  our  life,  and 
thence  the  calls  to  detach  yourselves  from  the 
world.  And  what  can  be  more  proper  to  produce 
such  a  detachment  than  this  reflection,  that  not  only 
the  years  which  we  must  pass  on  earth  are  consum- 
ing, but  also  that  the  years  of  the  world's  subsist- 
ence are  already  consumed  in  part,  and  that  the 
time  approaches,  in  w  hich  it  must  be  delivered  to 
the  flames  and  reduced  to  ashes  ? 

Let  us  first  consider  the  words  of  our  text  in 
themselves,  and  let  us  prove  this  proposition,  "  one 
day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a 
thousand  years  as  one  day." 

The  notion  which  I  have  of  God  is  my  principle: 
The  w^ords  of  my  text  are  the  consequence.  If  I 
establish  the  principle,  the  consecjuence  will  be  in- 
contestible.  1.  Eternity, — 2.  Perfect  KnowledgCy 
and,  in  some   sort,  the  sight  and  presence  of  all 


The  Eternity  of  God.  107 

that  has  been,  of  all  that  is,  and  of  all  that  shall 
be. — 3.  Supreme  happiness:  are  three  ideas  which 
form  my  notion  of  the  Deity  :  this  is  my  princi- 
ple. "  A  thousand  years"  then  "  are  as  one  day, 
and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years  with  the  Lord  :" 
this  is  my  consequence.  Let  us  prove  the  truth  of 
the  pi'inciple,  by  justifying  the  notion  which  we  form 
of  the  Deity. 

1.  God  is  an  eternal  being.  This  is  not  a  chime- 
ra of  my  mind;  it  is  a  truth  accompanied  with  all 
the  evidence  of  which  a  proposition  is  capable.  I 
exist,  I  speak,  you  hear  me,  at  least  you  seem  to 
hear  me.  These  are  facts,  the  certainty  of  which 
all  the  philosophers  in  the  world  can  never  destroy, 
I  am  not  able  to  new  mould  myself,  nor  can  I  help 
the  perception  of  truths,  the  knowledge  of  which 
(if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so)  is  as  essential  to  me 
as  my  own  existence.  It  does  not  depend  on  me 
not  to  regard  Pyrrho  and  Academus,  those  famous 
defenders  of  doubt  and  uncertainty,  as  fools  who 
extinguished  the  light  of  common  sense,  or  rather 
as  impostors,  who  pronounced  propositions  Avith 
their  mouths,  the  falsity  of  which  it  was  impossi- 
ble their  minds  should  not  perceive.  I  repeat  it 
again,  the  most  subtle  objections  of  all  the  philoso- 
phers in  the  world  united,  can  never  diminish  in 
me  that  impression  which  the  perception  of  my  own 
existence  makes  on  my  mind,  nor  hinder  my  evi- 
dence of  the  truth  of  these  propositions ;  1  exist,  I 
speak,  you  hear  me,  at  least  (for  with  the  people 
whom  I  oppose,  one  must  weigh  each  expression, 
and,  in  some  sort,  each  syllable)  at  least  I  have  the 


108  The  Eternity  of  God. 

same  impressions  as  if  there  were  beings  before  my 
eyes  who  heard  me. 

If  I  am  sure  of  mv  own  existence,  I  am  no  less 
sure  that  I  am  not  the  author  of  it  myself,  and  that 
I  derive  it  from  a  superior  Being.  Were  I  alto- 
gether ignorant  of  the  history  of  the  world ;  if  I 
had  never  heard  that  I  was  only  of  yesterday^  as  the 
Psalmist  speaks,  Psal.  xc.  4.  if  I  knew  not  that  my 
parents,  who  were  born  like  me,  are  dead ;  were  I 
not  assured  that  I  should  soon  die ;  if  I  knew  no- 
thing of  all  this,  yet  I  should  not  doubt  whether  I 
owed  my  existence  to  a  superior  Being.  I  can 
never  convince  myself  that  a  creature  so  feeble  as 
I  am,  a  creature  whose  least  desires  meet  with  in- 
surmountable obstacles,  a  creature  who  cannot  add 
one  cubit  to  his  stature,  Mat.  v.  27.  a  creature  who 
cannot  prolong  his  own  life  one  single  instant,  one 
who  is  forced  to  yield,  willing  or  unwilling,  to  a 
greater  power  which  cries  to  him,  Dust  thou  art, 
and  to  dust  thou  shalt  return.  Gen.  iii.  19.  I  can 
never  convince  myself  that  such  a  creature  existed 
from  all  eternity,  much  less  that  he  owes  his  exist- 
ence only  to  himself,  and  to  the  eminence  of  his 
own  perfections.  It  is  then  sure  that  I  exist :  it  is 
also  certain  that  I  am  not  the  author  of  my  own 
existence. 

This  certainty  is  all  I  ask,  I  ask  only  these  two 
propositions :  I  exist,  I  am  not  the  author  of  my 
own  existence,  to  convince  me  that  there  is  an  eter- 
nal Being.  Yes,  though  a  revelation  emanating  from 
the  bosom  of  Omniscience  had  never  given  me  this 
idea  of  the  Divinity  ;  though  Moses  had  never  pro- 


The  Eternity  of  God.  109 

noiinced  this  oracle,  before  the  mountains  ivcre  hrovghl 
forth,  or  ever  thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  and  the 
world,  even  from  everlasting  thou  art  God,  Psa.  xc.  2. 
though  the  four  and  twenty  Elders,  who  surround 
the  throne  of  God,  had  never  rendered  homage  to 
his  eternity,  or,  prostrating  before  him,  incessantly 
cried.  We  give  thee  thanks,  Lord  God  Almighty,  nhieh 
art,  and  wast,  and  art  to  come,  Kev.  xi.  17.  though 
the  eternal  Being  had  never  said  of  himself,  /  am 
Alpha  and  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last.  Rev.  i.  8. 
Yea,  though  the  eternal  Being  had  never  convinced 
me  of  his  grandeur  by  the  works  of  his  hands,  if  I 
had  been  all  alone  in  the  nature  of  beings,  I  should 
have  been  forced  to  admit  an  eternal  Being.  And 
this  proposition.  There  is  an  eternal  Being,  natu- 
rally flows  from  those,  I  exist,  and  I  am  not  the  au- 
thor of  my  own  existence  ;  for  if  I  be  not  the  au- 
thor of  my  own  existence,  I  owe  it  to  another  Be- 
ing. That  Being  to  whom  I  owe  my  existence,  de- 
rives his  from  himself,  or,  like  me,  owes  it  to  anoth- 
er. If  he  exist  of  himself,  behold  the  eternal  Be- 
ing whom  I  have  been  seeking;  if  he  derive  his  ex- 
istence from  another,  I  reason  about  him  as  about  the 
former.  Thus  I  ascend,  thus  I  am  constrained  to 
ascend,  'till  I  arrive  at  that  Being  who  exists  of 
himself,  and  who  hath  always  so  existed. 

Let  such  of  you,  my  brethren,  as  cannot  follow 
this  reasoning,  blame  only  themselves.  Let  not 
such  people  say,  these  are  abstruse  and  metaphysic- 
al reflections,  which  should  never  be  brought  into 
these  assemblies.  It  is  not  fair  that  the  incapacity 
of  a  small  number,  an  incapacity  caused  by  their 


110  The  Eiernity  of  God. 

voluntary  attachment  to  sensible  things,  and  (so  to 
speak)  by  their  criminal  interment  in  matter ;  it  is 
not  right  that  this  should  retard  the  edification  of  a 
whole  people,  and  prevent  the  proposing  of  the  first 
principles  of  natural  religion.  Eternity  enters  then 
into  the  idea  of  the  creative  Being  ;  and  this  is  what 
we  proposed  to  prove. 

2.  "  Omniscience,  intimate  acquaintance,  and,  in 
a  manner,  the  presence  of  all  that  is,  of  all  that  has 
been,  of  all  that  shall  be,"  is  the  second  idea  which 
we  form  of  the  Deity.  The  more  we  meditate 
on  the  essence  and  self-existence  of  the  eternal 
Being,  the  more  are  we  convinced  that  omniscience 
necessarily  belongs  to  eternity ;  so  that  to  have  pro- 
Ted  that  God  possesses  the  first  of  these  attributes, 
is  to  have  proved  that  he  possesses  the  second. 
But,  as  I  am  certain,  that  a  great  number  of  my 
hearers  would  charge  those  reflections  with  obscu- 
rity, of  which  they  are  ignorant  only  through  their 
own  inattention,  I  will  not  undertake  to  prove,  by  a 
chain  of  propositions,  that  the  eternal  Being  knows 
all  things  :  that,  as  author  of  all,  he  knows  the  na-^ 
lure  of  all ;  that,  knowing  the  nature  of  alJ,  he 
know  s  what  must  result  from  all.  It  will  be  better 
to  give  you  this  subject  ready  digested  in  our  holy 
Scriptures,  than  to  oblige  you  to  recollect  it  by 
your  own  meditation.  Recall  then  on  this  article 
these  expressions  of  the  sacred  writers  :  "  O  Lord, 
thou  knowest  all  things,"  John  xxi.  17. — "  The 
heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately 
wicked,  who  can  know  it?  I  the  Lord  search  the 
heart  and  try  the  reins/'  Jer.  xvii.  9,  10. — "  Known 


The  Eternity  of  God.  1 1  \ 

unto  him  are  all  his  works  from  the  beginning,'* 
Acts  XV.  18. — "  The  word  of  God  is  quick  and  pow- 
erful, and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword,  pier- 
cing even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and  spirit, 
and  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a  discerner  of 
the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  Neither  is 
there  any  creature  that  is  not  manifest  in  his  sight," 
Heb.  iv.  12,  <X*c.  Some  interpreters  think,  that  by 
the  ivord  of  God,  we  must  understand  here,  not  the 
gospel  of  .Tesus  Christ,  as  the  phrase  is  generally 
understood,  but  his  person.  If  this  be  St.  Paul's 
idea,  he  uses,  methinks,  the  same  metaphysical  rea- 
soning which  we  have  proposed :  that  is,  that  he 
who  created  all,  knows  all.  Observe  how  this  rea- 
soning is  followed  and  developed  in  the  Apostle's 
words.  The  word  of  God,  or,  as  it  is  in  the  Greek, 
the  logos,  the  word  of  God  is  quick  and  powerfid; 
that  is  to  say,  that  as  Jesus  Christ,  as  God,  hath  a 
fund  of  life  and  existence,  he  hath  also  freely  and 
effectually  communicated  life  and  existence  to  oth- 
ers. In  this  sense  it  is  elsewhere  said,  that  "  by 
him  were  all  things  created,  that  are  in  heaven  and 
that  are  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they 
be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or  pow- 
ers," Col.  i.  16.  And  in  St.  John's  Gospel,  "  In  the 
beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  All  things  were 
made  by  him,  and  without  him  was  not  any  thing 
made  that  was  made,"  .John  i.  1,  3.  But  tliis  Word, 
^idck  and  powerful,  who  hath  given  being  to  all, 
perfectly  knows  all  ;  "  sharper  than  any  two-edged 
sword,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul 


1 1 2  The  Eternity  of  God, 

and  spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  and  is  a 
discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart; 
neither  is  there  any  creature  that  is  not  manifest  in 
his  sight,  but  all  tilings  are  naked  and  opened  unto 
the  eyes  of  him  with  whom  we  have  to  do."  Om- 
niscience, intimate  knowledge,  and,  as  I  said  be- 
fore, the  presence  of  all  that  is,  of  all  that  ^vas,  of 
all  that  shall  be,  are  as  essential  to  God  as  eternity. 
This  also,  we  hope,  is  sufficiently  proved. 

3.  Supreme  felicity  is  the  third  idea  which  we 
have  formed  of  God  ;  it  flows  immediately  from  the 
two  first.  Every  intelligent  being  is  capable  of 
happiness,  nor  can  he  regard  happiness  with  indif- 
ference ;  he  is  inclined  by  his  very  nature  to  render 
himself  happy.  He  cannot  love  misery  as  misery  ; 
he  never  suffers  a  present  misery  but  in  hopes  of  a 
future  pleasure ;  or  else  he  supports  a  misery  be- 
cause it  appears  to  him  more  tolerable  than  the 
means  proposed  to  deliver  him.  Even  those  who 
have  wilfully  plunged  themselves  into  the  gulfs  of 
hell,  in  a  fit  of  black  melancholy,  ^vould  not  have 
taken  that  dreadful  step,  had  they  not  revolved  this 
melancholy  imagination  in  theu*  distracted  minds, 
that  the  assurance  of  being  plunged  into  hell  is  less 
tolerable  than  hell  itself.  It  implies  a  contradiction, 
thai  an  intelligent  being,  capable  of  being  happy  or 
miserable,  should  be  indifferent  to  his  own  happi- 
ness or  misery.  If  any  thing  be  wanting  to  the  feli- 
city of  God,  the  defect  must  not  be  attributed  to 
his  will,  the  cause  must  be  sought  in  his  weakness, 
that  is,  in  his  want  of  power. 


The  Eternity  of  God.  1 1 3 

But  who  can  conceive  that  a  Being  who  existed 
from  all  eternity,  who  gave  existence  to  nil  things, 
and  who  knows  all  things,  hath  only  a  finite  and 
limited  power  ?  I  am  well  aware  of  the  difficulty 
of  following  the  attributes  of  the  Deity,  and  that, 
in  the  greatest  part  of  our  reasonings  on  this  grand 
subject,  we  suppose  what  ought  to  be  proved.  But 
as  far  as  we  are  capable  of  penetrating  this  pro- 
found subject,  we  have  grounds  for  reasoning  in 
this  manner :  God  hath  given  being  to  all  things, 
and  he  saw  what  must  result  from  them ;  it  depend- 
ed then  entirely  on  him  to  form  the  plan  of  the 
world  or  not  to  form  it ;  to  be  alone  or  to  impart 
existence  :  It  depended  on  him  to  form  the  plan  of 
such  a  world  as  we  see,  or  to  form  another  plan. 
He  hath  followed,  in  the  choice  which  he  hath  made, 
that  which  was  most  proper  for  his  own  glory.  If, 
to  these  feeble  speculations,  we  join  the  infallible 
testimony  of  revelation,  we  shall  find  a  perfect 
agreement  with  our  ideas  on  this  article ;  that  the 
Creator  is  the  happy  God  by  excellence,  1  Tim.  i. 
11.*  and  that  because  he  is  eternal  and  omniscient, 
he  must  for  those  very  reasons  be  infinitely  happy. 
This  article  also  is  sufficiently  proved. 

These  three  ideas  of  the  Deity  are  three  sources 
of  proofs,  in  favour  of  St.  Peter's  proposition  in 
the  words  of  my  text,  ''  a  thousand  years  before 

*  1  Tim.  i.  11.  bienheureux  dieUy  /^UKx^iog  ©eo$.  /tcaxee^ia;, 
quasi  usyoc  X'*'?^^)  ^^  ^^h  fnultum  ct  valde  gaudcns  :  bcatus 
Deus^  qui  sibi  sufficiens  erat  ad  beatitudinem.  Vide  Nov.  Test. 
Grace,  cum  notis,  Londini,  1768. 

VOL.  I.  15 


1 1 4  The  Eternity  of  God. 

the  Lord  are  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand 
years." 

God  is  an  eternal  Being.  Then  "  a  thousand 
years  with  him  are  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a 
thousand  years ;"  that  is  to  say,  "  a  thousand  years 
and  one  day"  are  such  inconsiderable  measures  of 
duration,  that,  whatever  disproportion  they  have 
to  each  other,  they  appear  to  have  none  when  com- 
pared with  the  duration  of  eternity.  There  is  a 
great  difference  between  one  drop  of  water  and  the 
twenty  thousand  baths  which  were  contained  in  that 
famous  vessel  in  Solomon's  temple,  which,  on  ac- 
count of  its  matter  and  capacity,  was  called  the  sea 
of  brass,  1  Chron.  xviii.  8.  but  this  vessel  itself,  in 
comparison  of  the  sea,  properly  so  called,  was  so 
small,  that  when  we  compare  all  it  could  contain, 
with  the  sea,  the  twenty  thousand  baths,  that  is, 
one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  pounds  weight,  ap- 
pear only  as  a  drop  of  water.  The  extreme  differ- 
ence between  that  quantity  of  w^ater  and  a  little 
drop  vanishes  when  compared  with  the  ocean.  One 
drop  of  w  ater  with  the  sea  is  as  twenty  thousand 
baths,  and  twenty  thousand  baths  are  as  one  drop 
of  water.  There  is  a  great  difference  betw  een  the 
light  of  a  taper  and  that  of  a  flambeau  ;  but  expose 
both  to  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  their  difference 
wull  be  imperceptible.  The  light  of  a  little  taper 
before  the  sun  is  as  the  light  of  a  flambeau,  and  the 
light  of  a  flambeau  as  that  of  a  little  taper.  In  like 
manner,  eternal  duration  is  so  great  an  object,  that 
it  causeth  every  thing  to  disappear  that  can  be  com- 
pared with  it.    A  thousand  years  are  no  more  be 


The  Eternity  of  God.  1 15 

fore  this  than  one  day,  nor  one  day  than  a  thousand 
years ;  and  these  two  terms,  so  unequal  in  them-^ 
selves,  seem  to  have  a  perfect  equality  when  com- 
pared with  eternity.  We,  minute  creatures,  we 
consider  a  day,  an  hour,  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  as  a 
very  little  space  in  the  course  of  our  lives  ;  we  lose 
"without  scruple  a  day,  an  hour,  a  quarter  of  an 
hour :  But  we  are  very  much  to  blame  ;  for  this 
day,  this  hour,  this  quarter  of  an  hour,  should  we 
even  live  a  whole  age,  would  be  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  our  life.  But,  if  we  attend  to  the  little 
probability  of  our  living  a  whole  age  ;  if  we  reflect 
that  ttiis  little  space  of  time,  of  which  we  are  so 
profuse,  is  the  only  space  we  can  call  our  own ;  if 
we  seriously  think  that  one  quarter  of  an  hour,  that 
one  hour,  that  one  day  is  perhaps  the  only  time 
given  us  to  prepare  our  accounts,  and  to  decide  our 
eternal  destiny;  w^e  should  have  reason  to  acknow- 
ledge, that  it  was  madness  to  lose  the  least  part  of 
so  short  a  life.  But  God  revolves  (if  I  may  ven- 
ture to  say  so)  in  the  immense  space  of  eternity. 
Heap  millions  of  ages  upon  millions  of  ages,  add 
new  millions  to  new  millions,  all  this  is  nothino  in 
comparison  of  the  duration  of  the  eternal  Being. 
In  this  sense,  "  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day, 
and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years." 

2.  God  knows  all.  Then,  a  thousand  years  are 
with  him  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand 
years  ;  because  he  sees  no  more  in  a  thousand  years 
than  in  one  day  ;  because  he  sees  as  much  in  one  day 
as  he  can  see  in  a  thousand  years.  Ignorance  and 
uncertainty  are  the  principal  causes  that  make  U5? 


116  The  Eternity  of  God, 

think  a  sliort  space  of  time  a  lon^  duration ;  espe- 
cially, when  our  ignorance  and  uncertainty  respect 
things  which  we  ardently  desire  to  know  :  Hope  de- 
ferred maketh  the  heart  sick,  (Pro v.  xiii.  12.)  is  a 
saying  of  the  wise  man.  The  very  time  in  which 
we  are  in  suspense  about  an  apprehended  evil,  is 
insupportable  to  us.  It  seems  to  us,  while  we  ex- 
pect a  fatal  sentence,  that  we  are  every  moment 
suffering  its  execution. 

God  knows  all.  He  sees  all  that  was,  all  that  is, 
all  that  ever  will  be.  The  moment  which  he  assign- 
ed for  the  formation  of  this  universe,  is  as  present 
to  his  mind  as  that  Avhich  he  hath  determined  for  its 
destruction.  He  knows  the  success  of  the  various 
plans  which  at  present  exercise  the  speculations  of 
the  greatest  geniusses,  and  which  occasion  an  infi- 
nite number  of  different  opinions  among  politicians. 
He  knows  to  what  lengths  that  tyrant,  who  is  the 
scourge  of  the  whole  earth,  shall  carry  his  rage. 
He  knows  how  long  that  empire  shall  maintain  its 
dignity,  w  hich  at  present  subsists  with  so  much  glo- 
ry. He  knows  during  what  space  Antichrist  shall 
yet  oppose  the  dominion  of  the  king  Messiah  ;  and 
when  the  king  Messiah  shall  make  him  lick  the 
dust.  He  knows  when  the  air  shall  resound  with 
that  comfortable  exclamation,  "  Babylon  the  great 
is  fallen,  is  fallen,  and  is  become  the  habitation  of 
devils,  and  the  hold  of  every  foul  spirit !"  Rev. 
xviii.  2. 

3.  In  fine,  God  is  supremely  happy.  Then,  "  a 
thousand  years  with  him  are  as  one  day,  and  one 
day  as  a  thousand  years."     In  the  enjoyment  of  per- 


The  Eternity  of  God.  1 17 

feet  happiness,  the  duration  of  time  is  impercepti- 
ble. Placed,  as  we  are,  my  dearest  brethren,  in  this 
valley  of  miseries,  tasting  only  imperfect  and  imbit- 
tered  pleasures,  it  is  very  difficult  for  us  to  conceive 
the  impression  wliich  felicity  makes  on  an  intelli- 
gence supremely  happy.  If  the  enjoyment  of  some 
small  good  make  us  conceive  to  a  certain  degree, 
a  state  in  which  ages  appear  moments,  the  miseries 
inseparable  from  our  lives  presently  replunge  us  in- 
to a  state  in  which  moments  appear  ages ;  in  which 
sorrows  of  the  body,  and  sorrows  of  the  mind,  fre- 
quently less  tolerable  than  those  of  the  body,  so 
powerfully  apply  our  minds  to  each  indivisible  space 
of  time  spent  in  pain,  that  we  think  our  sufferings 
have  been  long,  when  we  have  scarcely  begun  to 
suffer.  But  God  is  always  happy,  and  always  su- 
premely happy  ;  he  always  enjoys  that  perfect  feli- 
city, which  makes  a  thousand  years,  ten  thousand 
millions  of  years,  vanish  with  an  inconceivable  ra- 
pidity. It  would  be  unhappy  not  to  enjoy  this  kind 
of  felicity  more  than  ten  or  twelve  millions  of  years, 
because  the  impression  which  that  felicity  would 
make  on  the  soul  would  be  so  pow  erful  and  lively, 
that  it  would  render  him  who  enjoyed  it  insensible 
to  time  j  time  would  expire,  and  he  would  hardly 
perceive  that  he  had  enjoyed  any  thing,  even  when 
he  had  possessed  happiness  as  long  as  I  have  sup- 
posed. God  would  be  unhappy  (allow  me  this  ex- 
pression) if  his  felicity  were  not  eternal.  But  this 
is  one  of  the  subjects  which  must  intimidate  a 
preacher  through  the  difficulty  he  meets  with  in 
furnishing  matter.     We  must  have  ideas  beyond 


118  The  Eternity  of  God. 

human.  We  must  have  terms  which  mankind  have 
not  yet  invented.  We  ourselves  must  have  parti- 
cipated the  felicity  of  God ;  we  must  speak  to  men 
who  also  had  partaken  of  it;  and  afterwards,  we 
must  have  ao;reed  together  on  a  new  language  to 
express  each  idea  excited  by  the  happiness,  of  which 
we  had  made  so  blessed  an  experience.  Represent 
to  yourselves  a  Being,  or  rather  think,  think,  my 
dear  hearers,  on  the  difficulty  of  representing  a  Be- 
ing, who,  having  in  the  prodigious  capacity  of  his 
intelligence  all  possible  plans  of  this  universe,  hath 
preferred  that  which  appeared  to  him  the  wisest, 
the  best,  and  the  most  conformable  to  the  holiness 
of  his  attributes ;  represent  a  Being  who  hath  exe- 
cuted this  plan,  a  Being  who  hath  created  in  this 
vast  extent  which  our  imagination  fancies,  in  that 
which  our  whole  mind,  more  capable  still  of  con- 
ceiving grand  objects  than  our  imagination  alone,  or 
our  senses  admires ;  represent  to  yourselves  a  Be- 
ing who  hath  created  whatever  is  most  capable  of 
contributing  to  perfect  felicity ;  represent  a  Being 
who  loves,  and  who  is  beloved  by  objects  Avorthy  of 
his  love  ;  a  Being  who  knows  how  to  repress  the 
madness  of  those  who  rebel  against  his  empire ;  a 
Being  who  shares  his  felicity  with  spirits,  whom  he 
esteems,  and  by  whom  he  is  esteemed  above  all 
things ;  a  Being  who  hath  the  pleasure  of  render- 
ing the  objects  of  his  esteem  happy,  and  who  ac- 
knowledge that  all  their  happiness  comes  from  him  ; 

■ spirits  who  continually  praise  the  author  of 

their  felicity,  and  who,  casting  their  crowns  at  his 
feet,  incessantly  cry,  "Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  of 


The  Eternity  of  God.  119 

Hosts ;  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  thy  glory,"  Isa.  vi, 
3.  Represent  to  yourselves  a  Being  who  is  approv- 
ed by  intelligences  skilful  in  virtues,  in  grandeurs, 
in  objects  worthy  of  praise;  a  Being  who  loves  only 
order,  and  who  hath  power  to  maintain  it;  a  Being 
who  is  at  the  summit  of  felicity,  and  who  knows 
that  he  shall  be  so  forever.  O  ages !  O  millions  of 
ages !  O  thousands  of  millions  of  ages !  O  duration 
the  longest  that  can  be  imagined  by  an  intelligence 
composed  (if  I  may  speak  so)  of  all  intelligences, 
how  short  must  ye  appear  to  so  happy  a  Being! 
There  is  no  time  w  ith  him  ;  there  is  no  measure  of 
time.  One  thousand  years,  ten  thousand  years, 
one  quarter  of  an  hour,  one  instant,  is  almost  the 
same.  "  A  thousand  years  are  with  him  as  one 
day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years." 

We  have  considered  our  text  in  itself;  we  will 
now  shew  the  end  of  the  Apostle  in  proposing  it, 
and  that  it  was  very  proper  to  answer  that  end. 
This  is  our  second  part. 

St.  Peter,  as  we  said  before,  St.  Peter  meant  io 
refute  the  odious  objections  of  some  profane  per- 
sons of  his  own  time,  wiio  pretended  to  make  the 
doctrine  of  an  universal  judgment  doubtful,  and 
who  said,  in  order  to  obscure  its  truth,  or  enervate 
its  evidence,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming, 
for  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep  all  things  remain  as 
they  were?"  2  Pet.  iii.  4.  I  am  aware  that  this 
comment  is  disputed,  and  some  have  thought  that 
the  destruction  of  .Jerusalem  was  the  subject  of  this 
whole  chapter,  and  not  the  end  of  the  world  ;  but, 
how^ever  averse  Ave  are  to  the  decisive  tone,  we  will 


120  The  Eternity  of  God. 

venture  to  demonstrate  that  the  apostle  had  far 
greater  objects  in  view  than  the  fatal  catastrophes  of 
the  Jewish  nation.     This  I  think  clearly  appears, 

1.  By  the  nature  of  the  objection  which  libertines 
made.  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming,  for 
since  the  fathers  fell  asleep  all  things  remain  as  tiiey 
were  ?"  These  libertines  did  not  mean  that  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel  had  suffered  no  considerable  alteration ;  they 
did  not  mean  from  that  false  principle  to  draw  this 
false  consequence,  that  Jerusalem  would  always  re- 
main as  it  then  was.  How  could  they  be  such  no- 
vices in  the  history  of  their  nation,  as  not  to  know 
the  sad  vicissitudes,  the  banishments,  and  the  plun- 
derings,  which  the  Jews  had  undergone?  They 
meant,  that  though  some  particular  changes  had 
happened  in  some  parts  of  the  world,  the  generality 
of  creatures  had  always  remained  in  the  same  state ; 
thence  they  pretended  to  conclude  that  they  would 
always  remain  so. 

2.  This  appears  farther  by  the  manner  in  which 
the  Apostle  answers  them  in  the  verses  preceding 
the  text.  He  alleges  against  them  the  example  of 
the  deluge.  2'his,  says  he,  "  they  are  willingly  ig- 
norant of,  that  the  world  that  then  was,  being  over- 
flowed with  water,  perished,"  ver.  5,  6.  To  this 
he  adds,  "  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great 
noise,  the  elements  shall  melt  w  ith  fervent  heat,  the 
earth  also  and  the  things  that  are  therein  shall  be 
burnt  up,"  ver.  10.  On  which  we  reason  thus: 
The  world,  that  was  formerly  destroyed  with  wa- 
ter, is  the  same  which  shall   be  destroyed  by  fire; 


The  Eternity  of  God.  121 

but  the  world  that  was  destroyed  with  water,  was 
not  the  Jewish  nation  only  :  St.  Peter  then  pre- 
dicts a  destruction  more  general  than  that  of  the 
Jews. 

3.  This  appears  farther  by  this  consideration. 
The  people  to  whom  St.  Peter  wrote  did  not  live 
in  Judea,  but  were  dispersed  through  Pontus,  Ga- 
latia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia.  These  peo- 
ple could  have  but  little  to  do  with  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem.  Whether  Jesus  Christ  terminated 
the  duration  of  that  city  suddenly  or  slowly,  was 
a  question  that  regarded  them  indirectly  only ;  but 
the  day  of  which  St.  Peter  speaks  interests  all 
Christians,  and  St.  Peter  exhorts  all  Christians  to 
prepare  for  it,  as  being  personally  concerned  in  it. 

4.  Add  a  fourth  consideration,  taken  from  what 
follows  our  text,  ver.  15.  16.  ''Even  as  our  belov- 
ed brother  Paul  also  speaks  of  these  things,  in  which 
are  some  things  hard  to  be  understood,  which  they 
that  are  unlearned  and  unstable,  wrest  unto  their 
own  destruction."  What  are  these  things  hard  to  he 
understood?  Many  interpreters,  ancient  and  mod- 
ern, have  thought  that  the  doctrine  of  justification 
was  intended ;  a  doctrine  established  by  St.  Paul, 
and  wrested  by  many  to  their  own  destruction,  as 
from  thence  they  concluded  that  good  works  were 
useless.  But,  methinks,  it  is  more  probable  that  St. 
Peter  designs  some  parts  of  the  first  epistle  to  the 
Thessalonians,  where  the  Apostle  had  spoken  as  if 
the  day  of  judgment  was  very  nigh,  1  Thess.  iv.  13, 
&c.  and  V.  1,  &c.  and  from  which  many  concluded 
that  it  would  immediately  appear,  and  the  mistake 

VOL.  I,  16 


122  The  Eternity  of  God. 

caused  a  general  subversion  of  society.  Since  theoy 
St.  Paul  had  spoken  of  the  day  of  judgment,  and  St. 
Peter  speaks  of  the  same  things,  it  follows,  that  St. 
Peter  designed  to  establish  the  truth  of  a  general 
judgment,  against  those  infidels  who  endeavoured 
to  subvert  it. 

But  how  is  what  the  Apostle  says,  "  one  day  is 
with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand 
years  as  one  day ;"  how  is  such  a  proposition  pro- 
per to  refute  the  odious  objection  of  infidels,  who 
said,  "  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ?"  If  a 
man  who  possesseth  2;reat  riches  promise  a  small 
sum  to  an  indigent  person,  if  he  defer  the  fulfilment 
of  his  promise,  in  vain  ye  endeavour  to  exculpate 
him  by  saying,  the  promiser  is  so  opulent  that  a 
small  sum  with  him  is  as  great  riches,  and  great 
riches  are  as  a  small  sum. 

In  like  manner,  to  say  that  "a  thousand  years 
with  God  are  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a  thou- 
sand years,"  is  tliat  to  answer  the  objection  ?  The 
question  is  not  w  hat  the  time  of  delay  is  to  the  eter- 
nal Being ;  the  question  is,  what  that  time  is  to  poor 
mortals,  who  are  confined  to  the  earth,  loaded  with 
miseries,  and  to  whom  one  day  is  as  a  thousand 
years,  and  not  a  thousand  years  as  one  day. 

This  difficulty  is  solved  by  the  connection  of  our 
text  with  the  following  verses:  "Beloved,  be  not 
ignorant  of  this  one  thing,  that  one  day  is  with  the 
Lord  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as 
one  day.  The  Lord  is  not  slack  concerning  his  pro- 
mise, as  some  men  count  slackness,  but  is  long  suf- 
fering to  US-ward,  pot  willing  that  any  should  per- 


The  Eternity  of  God,  123 

isb,  but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance."  This 
answer  is  conclusive,  as  ye  will  more  fully  perceive 
by  the  following  paraphrase.  The  delay  of  the  day 
of  judgment  may  be  considered  either  in  relation 
to  men  who  must  be  judged,  or  to  God  himself  who 
will  judge  them.  If  ye  consider  it  in  regard  to 
men  who  must  be  judged,  they  have  no  room  to 
complain  that  God  defers  tliis  important  period ;  on 
the  contrary,  they  ought  to  consider  the  pretended 
slackness  of  which  they  complain,  as  an  eifect  of 
the  adorable  love  of  their  judge,  who  invites  theni 
to  conversion.  The  manner  in  which  God  ordi- 
narily takes  men  out  of  this  life,  is  much  more  pro- 
per to  incline  them  to  conversion  than  the  terrible 
retinue  of  his  coming  to  judgment.  How  terrible 
will  his  appearance  be  !  What  eye  will  not  be  daz- 
zled ?  Whose  conscience  will  not  be  alarmed  ?  EJere 
blow  the  trumpets,  the  dreadful  sounds  of  which 
proclaim  the  approach  of  the  Judge  of  diis  universe. 
There,  the  heavens,  which  once  opened  to  receive 
the  Son  of  God,  open  again  that  he  may  return  to 
the  earth,  to  execute  his  threatenings  on  rebellious 
men.  Here,  earth  and  sea  restore  the  bodies  which 
they  have  devoured.  There,  those  thousand  thou- 
sands, those  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand,  who  are 
continually  before  God,  Dan.  vii.  10.  offer  their  min- 
istry to  him,  and  are  the  witnesses,  admirers,  and 
executors  of  his  judgment.  Here,  open  the  eter- 
nal books,  in  which  so  many  unrighteous  thoughts, 
so  many  unprofitable  words,  so  many  criminal  ac- 
tions have  been  registered.  There,  sentences  are 
preparing,  destinies  determining,  final  decrees  just 


IM  The  Eternity  of  God. 

pronouncing.  Who  then  could  have  presence  of 
mind  enough  to  recur  to  genuine  repentance^  even 
supposing  there  were  yet  time  for  repentance  ?  Men 
then  have  no  reason  to  complain  that  the  day  of 
judgment  is  not  yet  come.  "  The  Lord  is  patient 
towards  all  men,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish, 
but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance." 

If  ye  consider  the  pretended  delay  of  judgment 
in  regard  to  God,  as  ye  have  considered  it  in  regard 
to  men,  ye  will  readily  acknowledge  that  what  ap- 
pears delay  to  you,  does  not  appear  so  to  him. 
Why  ?  Because  "  a  thousand  years  are  with  him  as 
one  day,  and  one  day  as  a  thousand  years ;"  be- 
cause this  long  term  that  offends  you  is  but  as  an 
instant  to  the  perfect  Being. 

It  seems  to  me  that  this  reasoning  is  conclusive. 
This  shall  suffice  for  the  present.  Let  us  conclude, 
and  let  us  employ  the  few  moments  which  remain, 
to  infer  from  the  doctrine  of  the  general  conflagra- 
tion, secured  against  the  objections  of  libertines, 
such  motives  to  piety  as  the  Apostle  intended  we 
should  draw  from  them.  "  Beloved,  be  not  igno- 
rant of  this  one  thing,  that  one  day  is  with  the  Lord 
as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one 
day.  The  Lord  is  not  slack  concerning  his  promise, 
as  some  men  count  slackness,  but  is  long  suffering 
to  us-ward,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but 
that  all  should  come  to  repentance.  But  the  day  of 
tlie  Lord  will  come  as  a  thief  in  the  night;  in  the 
which  the  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise, 
and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  ferv  ent  heat ;  the 
earth  also  and  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  be 


The  Eternity  of  God.  125 

burnt  up."      This  is  the  doctrine  that  the  Apostle 
establisheth.      "  vSeeing  then  that  all  these  things 
shall  be  dissolved,  what  manner  of  persons  ought 
ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and  godliness, 
looking  for  and  hasting  unto  the  coming  of  the  day 
of  God  ?"     This  is  the  consequence  which  he  dedu- 
ces; the  justness  of  which  inference  will  appear  by 
five  descriptions,   which  the  general   confiagration 
traces  before  your  eyes:  1.  A  description  of  the 
power  of  our  Judge :  2.  A  description  of  the  hor- 
rors of  vice  :  3.  A  description  of  the  vanity  of  the 
present  W'Orld :  4.  A  description  of  the  beauties  of 
the  world  to  come:    5.  A  description  of  the  excel- 
lence of  piety.     This  is  the  third  part,  and  the  con- 
clusion of  this  discourse. 

1.  The  destruction  of  the  universe  affords  us  a 
picture  of  the  power  of  our  Judge.  How  power- 
ful, my  brethren,  is  this  judge!  "Who  can  resist  his 
will?"  Rom.  ix.  19.  Once  there  was  no  sea,  no 
earth,  no  firmament;  one  frightful  night  covered  the 
whole  face  of  the  universe.  He  said,  (Gen.  i.  3.) 
and  all  these  beings  appeared:  Now  we  behold  a 
sea,  an  earth,  and  a  firmament.  He  will  say,  and 
the  sea  shall  be  dry,  and  the  earth  shall  be  consum- 
ed, the  stars  sliall  disappear,  the  firmament  shall  be 
found  no  more.  Such  is  the  God  whom  the  sinner 
attacks.  A  God  "  who  taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  very 
little  thing,"  Isa.  xl.  15.  A  God  "who  removeth 
the  mountains  and  overturneth  them  in  his  anger, 
who  shaketh  the  earth  out  of  her  place,  and  the  pil- 
lars thereof  tremble.  A  God,  who  commandeth 
the  sun  and  it  riseth  not,  and  sealeth  up  the  stars ; 


126  The  Eternity  of  God. 

who  doth  great  things  past  finding  out,  yea,  and 
wonders  without  number,"  Job  ix.  5,  6,  7,  10.  This, 
sinner,  is  the  God  whom  thou  attackest.  But  doth 
the  idea  of  a  God  so  powerful  never  excite  terror  in 
thy  rebellious  soul  ?  "  Do  we  provoke  the  Lord  to 
jealousy?"  1  Cor.  x.  22.  are  we  stronger  than  he? — 
Who  hath  hardened  himself  against  him,  and  hath 
prospered  ? — Can  any  resist  my  power?"  Job  ix.  4. 
"  Who  would  set  the  thorns  and  briars  against  me 
in  battle  ?  1  would  go  through  them,  I  would  burn 
them  together.  O  let  them  make  peace  with  me, 
and  they  shall  make  peace  with  me,"  Isa.  xxvii. 
4,  5. 

2.  The  conflagration  of  the  universe  affords  us  a 
picture  of  the  horrors  of  vice.  Behold  how  far 
God  carries  his  resentment  against  sin.  It  is  not 
enough  to  condemn  to  eternal  flames,  and  to  con- 
fine in  chains  of  darkness,  those  who  have  fled 
from  his  justice.  It  is  not  enough  to  pour  out  his 
wrath  upon  those  who  have  committed  the  crime, 
he  detests  even  the  instruments  of  the  crime ;  he  de- 
signs that  all  things  that  have  served  sin  shall  bear 
the  marks  of  his  anger.  If,  under  the  law,  a  man 
had  defiled  himself  with  a  beast,  he  must  die  with 
the  brutal  object  of  his  passion,  Lev.  xx.  15,  16. 
Thus  God  not  content  to  punish  the  avaricious 
with  unquenchable  fire,  will  destroy  even  objects 
of  avarice,  and  dissolve  the  gold  and  silver  with 
which  the  miser  committed  idolatry.  INot  content 
to  punish  the  ambitious,  he  will  destroy  even  the 
instruments  of  ambition,  and  overturn  those  thrones 
and  palaces  which  have  caused  it*    Not  content  to 


The  Eternity  of  God,  J  27 

punish  tlie  voluptuous,  he  will  destroy  even  objects 
of  voluptuousness,  and  consume  the  heavens,  the 
earth,  and  the  elements,  which  have  afforded  mat- 
ter for  concupiscence.  Heavens,  earth,  elements, 
are  ye  guilty  ?  But  If  ye  be  treated  with  so  much 
rigour  for  having  been  the  unconscious  instruments 
of  the  crime,  what  must  the  condition  of  the  crimi- 
nal be  ? 

3.  In  the  burning  of  the  universe  we  find  a  re- 
presentation of  the  vanity  of  the  present  world. 
What  is  this  world  which  fascinates  our  eyes  ?  It  is 
a  funeral  pile  that  already  begins  to  burn,  and  will 
soon  be  entirely  consumed ;  it  is  a  w  orld  which 
must  end,  and  all  that  must  end  is  far  inferior  to  an 
immortal  soul.  The  thought  of  death  is  already  a 
powerful  motive  to  us  to  place  our  affections  on 
another  world  ;  for  what  is  death  ?  it  is  to  every  in- 
dividual what  one  day,  the  final  ruin  will  be  to  the 
generality  of  mankind ;  it  is  the  destruction  of  the 
heavens,  which  pass  away  with  a  great  noise ;  it  is 
the  dissolution  of  elements ;  it  is  the  entire  confla- 
gration of  the  world,  and  of  the  works  which  art 
therein.  Yet  vanity  hath  invented  refuges  against 
this  storm.  The  hope  of  an  miaginary  immortality 
hath  been  able  to  support  some  men  against  the  fear 
of  a  real  death.  The  idea  of  existing  in  the  minds 
of  those  who  exist  after  them,  hath  in  some  sort, 
comforted  them  under  the  miserable  thought  of  be- 
ing no  more.  Hence  pompous  buildings,  and  state- 
ly edifices;  hence  rich  monuments,  and  superb 
mausoleums ;  hence  proud  inscriptions  and  vain- 
glorious titles,  inscribed  on  marble  and  brass.    But 


128  The  Eternity  of  God. 

bebold  the  dissolution  of  all  those  bonds.  The  de- 
struction of  the  world  deprives  us  of  our  imaginary 
beinc^,  as  death  deprives  us  of  our  real  existence. 
Ye  will  not  only  be  shortly  stretched  in  your  tombs, 
and  cease  to  use  the  houses  and  fields,  and  palaces 
which  ye  inhabit ;  but  these  houses,  these  palaces, 
these  fields  will  be  consumed,  and  the  memory  of 
all  that  is  fastened  to  the  world  w  ill  vanish  with  the 
world.  Since  then,  this  is  the  condition  of  all  sen- 
sible things,  since  all  these  sensible  things  must  per- 
ish ;  immortal  man,  infinite  spirit,  eternal  soul,  dost 
thou  fasten  thyself  to  vanity  and  instability  ?  Dost 
thou  not  seek  for  a  good  more  suitable  to  thy  nature 
and  duration  ?  seeing  all  these  things  must  he  dissol- 
ved, what  manner  of  persons  ought  ye  to  he  in  all  holy 
conversation  and  godliness  1 

4.  The  conflagration  of  the  universe  furnisheth  a 
description  of  the  w^orld  to  come.  Ye  often  hear 
us  declaim  on  the  nothingness  of  earthly  things; 
we  frequently  diminish  the  w^orth  of  all  that  is  great 
and  glorious;  w'e  frequently  cry  with  Solomon, 
Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity  ;  Yanity  in  plea- 
sures, vanity  in  grandeurs,  vanity  in  riches,  vanity 
in  sciences,  vanity  in  all.  But  yet,  my  brethren, 
how^  substantial  w^ould  this  vanity  be,  how  amiable 
would  this  nothingness  appear,  if  by  a  happy  as- 
semblage of  all  that  the  wo rid  hath  of  the  beautiful, 
we  could  acquire  the  reality  of  a  life,  of  w hich  it 
is  easy  to  form  to  one's  self  the  idea!  Could  I  ex- 
tract the  choicest  dignities  and  fortunes  ;  could  I 
inhabit  the  most  temperate  clime,  and  the  most  plea- 
?!ant  countrv ;  could  I  chuse  the  most  benevolent 


The  Eternity  of  God.  1 29 

hearts,  and  the  wisest  minds ;  could  I  take  the  most 
happy  temper,  and  the  most  sublime  genius ;  could 
I  cultivate  the  sciences,  and  make  the  fine  arts  flour- 
ish ;  could  I  collect  and  unite  all  that  could  please 
the  passions,  and  banish  all  that  could  give  pain. 
A  life  formed  on  this  plan,  how  likely  to  please  us  ! 
How  is  it  that  God  who  hath  resolved  to  render  us 
one  day  happy,  doth  not  allow  us  to  continue  in 
this  world,  and  content  himself  with  uniting  all 
these  happy  circumstances  in  our  favour  ?  It  is  good 
to  be  here,  Mat.  xvii.  4.  O  that  he  would  allow  us 
here  to  build  our  tabernacles.  Ah  !  my  brethren,  a 
life  formed  on  this  plan  might  indeed  answer  the 
ideas  of  happiness  which  feeble  and  finite  geniusses 
form  :  but  such  a  plan  cannot  even  approach  the  de- 
signs of  an  infinite  God.  A  life  formed  on  this 
plan,  might  indeed  exhaust  a  terrestrial  love,  but  it 
could  never  reach  the  love  of  an  infinite  God.  No, 
all  the  charms  of  this  society,  of  this  fortune,  and 
of  this  life ;  no,  all  the  softness  of  these  climates, 
and  of  these  countries;  no,  all  the  benevolence  of 
these  hearts,  and  all  the  friendship  of  these  minds ; 
no,  all  the  happiness  of  this  temper,  and  all  the  sub- 
limity of  this  genius  ;  no,  all  the  secrets  of  the  sci- 
ences, and  all  the  discoveries  of  the  fine  arts  ;  all 
the  attractions  of  these  societies,  and  all  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  passions,  have  nothing,  I  do  not  say 
w  hich  exhausts  the  love  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  I 
do  not  say  which  answers,  I  venture  to  say  which 
approaches  it.  To  accomplish  this  love  there  must 
be  another  world ;  there  must  be  new  heavens  and 
a  new  earth  ;  there  must  be  objects  far  more  grand. 

VOL.  I.  17 


130  The  Eternity  of  God, 

Finally,  the  destruction  of  the  universe  displays 
the  excellence  of  piety.  O  that  I  could  represent 
the  believer  amidst  fires,  flames,  winds,  tempests, 
the  confusion  of  all  nature,  content,  peaceable,  un- 
alterable! O  that  I  could  represent  the  heavens 
passing  away,  the  elements  dissolving  with  fervent 
heat,  the  earth  and  tlie  things  which  are  in  it  burn- 
ing up,  and  the  believer,  that  man,  that  inconsidera- 
ble man,  little  by  his  nature,  but  great  by  the  privi- 
leges with  which  piety  endows  him,  without  suspi- 
cion, rising  fearless  above  all  the  catastrophes  of  the 
universe,  and  surviving  its  ruins!  O  that  I  could 
describe  the  believer,  while  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
mourn  and  smite  their  breasts,  Mat.  xxiv.  30.  while 
the  wicked  shall  be  as  if  they  rvere  giving  up  the 
ghost,  Luke  xxi.  26.  while  their  despair  exhales  in 
these  dreadful  bowlings.  Mountains  fall  on  us,  hills 
cover  us  from  the  face  of  him  rvho  sits  on  the  throne^ 
and  from  the  face  of  the  Lamb!  Rev.  vi.  16.  O 
that  I  could  describe  the  believer  assured,  trium- 
phant, founded  on  the  rock  of  ages  hasting  unto  the 
coming  of  the  day  of  God,  2  Pet.  iii.  12.  as  our  A- 
postle  expresseth  it ;  aiming  with  transports  of  joy 
which  we  cannot  express,  (O  may  we  one  day  ex- 
perience these  transports !)  aiming  to  approach  the 
presence  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  his  tenderest  friend  and 
deliverer,  literally  proving  the  truth  of  this  promise, 
when  thou  passest  through  the  waters  they  shall  not 
overflow  thee,  when  thou  walkest  through  the  Jire  thou 
shalt  not  be  burnt,  Isa.  xliii.  2.  O  that  I  could  re- 
present him  crying,  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly. 
Rev.  xxii.  20.  come,  receive  a  creature  once  defiled 


The  Eternity  of  God.  \m 

with  sin;  sometimes  even  rebellious,  yet  always 
having  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart  principles  of  love 
to  thee ;  but  now  ravished  with  transports  of  joy, 
because  he  is  entering  an  economy,  in  which  he  shall 
be  always  submissive  and  always  faithful. 

AYhat  shall  I  say  lo  you,  my  dear  brethren,  to  in- 
cline you  to  piety,  if  all  these  grand  motives  be 
"without  success  ?  if  the  words  of  my  text,  if  the 
voice  of  an  Apostle, — what  do  I  say,  the  voice  of  an 
Apostle  ?  "  If  the  sun  darkened,  if  the  moon  chang- 
ed into  blood,  if  the  stars  fallen  from  Heaven,  if  the 
powers  of  heaven  shaken,  if  the  heavens  passing 
away  with  a  great  noise,  if  the  elements  dissolving 
with  fervent  heat,  if  the  earth  consumed  with  all 
that  is  therein,"  if  the  universal  destruction  of  na- 
ture and  elements  be  incapable  of  loosening  and  de- 
taching you  from  the  present  world. 

It  is  said,  that  some  days  before  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  a  voice  was  heard  proceeding  from 
the  holy  place,  and  crying.  Let  us  go  hence,  let  us  go 
hence,^     My  brethren,  such  a  voice  addresses  you. 

We  ground  our  exhortations  to-day,  not  on  the 
destruction  of  one  people  only ;  we  preach  (if  I 
may  be  allowed  to  say  so)  in  sight  of  the  ruins  of 
this  whole  universe :  Yes,  from  the  centre  of  the 
trembling  world  and  crashing  elements,  a  voice 
sounds.  Let  us  go  hence  ;  lei  us  quit  the  world  ;  give 
our  hopes  more  solid  bases  than  enkindled  worlds, 
which  will  shortly  be  burnt  up.  And  then,  pass 
away  heavens  with  a  great  noise,  consume  elements, 

*  Josephus  de  Bell.  Jud.  lib.  vi.  cap.  3L 


132  The  Eternity  of  God. 

burn  earth  with  all  thy  works,  perish  universe,  per- 
ish nature,  our  felicity  is  above  all  such  catastro- 
phes, we  cleave  to  the  God  of  ages,  to  God  who  is 
the  source  of  existence  and  duration,  to  God  before 
whom  "  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day,  and  one 
day  as  a  thousand  years."  "  O  Lord,  of  old  hast 
thou  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  and  the  hea- 
vens are  the  work  of  thine  hands.  They  shall  per- 
ish, but  thou  shalt  endure ;  yea,  all  of  them  shall 
wax  old  like  a  garment ;  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou 
change  them,  and  they  shall  be  changed.  But  thou 
art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall  have  no  end.  The 
children  of  thy  servants  shall  continue,  and  their 
seed  shall  be  established  before  thee,"  Psa.  cii.  26, 
^c.  God  grant  we  may  experience  these  great 
promises !  To  him  be  honour  and  glory.    Amen. 


SERMON  III. 

The  Omnipresence  of  God. 


>»« 


Psalm  cxxxix.  7,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12. 

Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  or  whither  shall  I 
Jieejrom  thy  presence  ^  If  I  ascend  up  into  heaven, 
thou  art  there :  if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  behold 
thou  art  there.  If  /  take  the  wings  of  the  mornings 
and  divell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea :  even 
there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand 
shall  hold  me.  If  I  say.  Surely  the  darkness  shall 
cover  me :  even  the  night  shall  be  light  about  me. 
Yea  the  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee ;  but  the 
night  shineth  as  the  day :  the  darkness  and  the 
light  are  both  alike  to  thee. 

fjOULD  I  have  one  wish,  to  answer  my  proposed 
end  of  preaching  to-day  with  efficacy,  Christians, 
it  should  be  to  shew  you  God  in  this  assembly. 
Moses  had  such  an  advantage,  no  man  therefore 
ever  spoke  with  greater  success.  He  gave  the  law 
to  the  people  in  God  the  legislator's  presence.  He 
could  say,  This  law  which  I  give  you  proceeds 
from  God  ;  here  is  his  throne,  there  is  his  lightning, 
yonder  is  his  thunder.  Accordingly,  never  were  a 
people  more  struck  with  a  legislator's  voice.  Mo- 
ses had  hardly  begun  to  speak,  but  at  least  for  that 


1 3i  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 

moment,  all  hearts  were  united,  and  all  Sinai  echo- 
ed with  one  voice,  ciying.  All  that  thou  hast  spoken 
we  will  do,  Exod.  xix.  8. 

But  in  vain  are  our  sermons  drawn  from  the  sa- 
cred sources ;  in  vain  do  we  say  to  you.  Thus  saith 
the  Lord :  ye  see  only  a  man ;  ye  hear  only  a  mor- 
tal voice  in  this  pulpit ;  God  hath  put  his  treasure 
into  earthen  vessels,  2  Cor.  iv.  7.  and  our  auditors 
estimating  the  treasure  by  the  meanness  of  the  ves- 
sel, instead  of  supporting  the  meanness  of  the  ves- 
sel for  the  sake  of  the  treasure,  hear  us  without  re- 
spect, and  generally,  derive  no  advantage  from  the 
ministry. 

But  were  God  present  in  this  assembly,  could  we 
shew  you  the  Deity  amongst  you,  authorizing  our 
voice  by  his  approbation  and  presence,  and  examin- 
ing with  what  dispositions  ye  hear  his  word,  which 
of  you,  which  of  you  my  brethren,  could  resist  so 
eminent  and  so  noble  a  motive  ? 

Christians,  this  idea  is  not  destitute  of  reality: 
God  is  every  where  ;  he  is  in  this  church.  Yails  of 
flesh  and  blood  prevent  your  sight  of  hun ;  these 
must  fall,  and  ye  must  open  the  eyes  of  your  spirits, 
if  ye  would  see  a  God  who  is  a  Spirit,  John  iv.  24, 
Hear  our  prophet ;  hear  his  magnificent  descrip- 
tion of  the  immensity  and  omnipresence  of  God. 
"  Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  or  whither 
shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence  ?  If  I  ascend  up  into 
heaven,  thou  art  there.  If  I  make  by  bed  in  hell, 
behold  thou  art  there.  If  I  take  the  wings  of  the 
morning,  and  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
sea :  even  there  shall  thy  hand  lead  me,  and  thy^ 


The  Omnipresence  of  God,  135 

right  hand  shall  hold  me.  If  I  say,  Surely  the 
darkness  shall  cover  me  ;  even  the  night  shall  be 
light  about  me.  Yea  the  darkness  hideth  not  from 
thee ;  but  the  night  shineth  as  the  day :  the  dark- 
ness and  the  light  are  both  alike  to  thee." 

In  a  text  less  abundant  in  riches,  we  might  make 
some  remarks  on  the  terms  spirit,  and  presence  ; 
but  we  will  content  ourselves  at  present  with  indi- 
cating what  ideas  we  affix  to  them,  by  observing, 
that  by  the  spiiit  and  presence  of  God,  we  under- 
stand God  himself.  I  know,  some  divines  discover 
great  mysteries  in  these  terms,  and  tell  us  that  there 
are  some  passages  in  scripture  where  the  word  pres- 
ence means  the  second  person  in  the  most  Holy 
Trinity,  and  where  the  term  spirit  is  certainly  to  be 
understood  of  the  third.  But  as  there  are  some 
passages  where  these  terms  have  not  this  significa- 
tion, it  is  beyond  all  doubt,  that  this,  which  we  are 
explaining,  is  precisely  of  the  latter  kind.  But 
however,  if  any  dispute  our  comment,  we  shall  leave 
them  to  dispute  it ;  for  it  would  be  unjust  to  con- 
sume that  time  which  is  dedicated  to  the  edification 
of  a  whole  congregation,  in  refuting  a  particular 
opinion.  The  other  expressions  in  our  text,  heaven, 
hell;  the  wings  of  the  morning,  a  figurative  expres- 
sion denoting  the  rapidity  of  the  light  in  communi- 
cating itself  from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the  oth- 
er ;  these  expressions,  I  say,  need  no  comment. 
The  presence  of  God,  the  spirit  of  God,  signify  then 
the  divine  essence :  and  this  assemblage  of  ideas, 
**  whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  whither  shall 


136  The  Omnipresence  of  God, 

I  flee  from  thy  presence  ?"  means,  that  God  is  im- 
mense, and  that  he  is  present  in  every  place. 

But  wherein  consists  this  immensity  and  omni- 
presence ?  If  ever  a  question  required  developing, 
this  certainly  does ;  not  only  because  it  presents  to 
the  mind  an  abstract  subject,  which  does  not  fall 
imder  the  observation  of  the  senses,  but  because 
many  who  have  treated  this  matter  (pardon  an  opin- 
ion which  does  not  proceed  from  a  desire  of  oppos- 
ing any  individual,  but  only  from  a  love  to  the 
truth)  many  who  have  handled  the  subject,  have 
contributed  more  to  perplex  than  to  explain  it.  We 
may  observe  in  general,  that  unless  we  be  wholly 
unacquainted  with  the  history  of  the  sciences,  it  is 
impossible  not  to  acknowledge,  that  all  questions 
about  the  nature  of  spirits,  all  that  are  any  way  re- 
lated to  metaphysics,  w^ere  very  little  understood 
before  the  time  of  that  celebrated  philosopher,  v»hom 
God  seems  to  have  bestowed  on  the  world  to  purify 
reason,  as  he  had  some  time  before  raised  up  others 
to  purify  religion.^ 

What. heaps  of  crude  and  indigested  notions  do 
we  find  among  the  schoolmen  of  the  immensity  of 
God  ?  One  said  that  God  was  a  point,  indivisible  in- 
deed, but  a  point  however,  that  had  the  peculiar 
property  of  occupying  every  part  of  the  universe. 
Another,  that  God  was  the  place  of  all  beings,  the 
immense  extent  in  which  his  power  had  placed 
them.  Another,  tliat  his  essence  was  really  in  hea- 
ven, but  yet,  repletiveli/,  as  they  express  it,  in  every 

*  The  philosopher  intended  by  Mr.  S.  I  suppose,  is  his  coim- 
trj'-man  De-scartes^  born  in  1596.    Vie  de  Desc.  par  Baillct. 


The  Omnipresence  of  God,  137 

part  of  the  universe.  In  short,  this  truth  hath  been 
obscured  by  the  grossest  ignorance.  Whatever 
aversion  we  have  to  tlie  decisive  tone,  we  will  ven- 
ture to  affirm,  that  people  who  talked  in  this  man- 
ner of  God,  had  no  ideas  themselves  of  what  they 
advanced. 

Do  not  be  afraid  of  our  conducting  you  into  these 
wild  mazes ;  do  not  imagine  that  we  will  busy  our- 
selves in  exposing  all  these  notions  for  the  sake  of 
labouring  to  refute  them.  We  will  content  .iur- 
selves  with  giving  you  some  light  into  the  omnipre- 
sence of  God : 

I.  By  removing  those  false  ideas,  which  at  first 
seem  to  present  themselves  to  the  imagination  ; 

II.  By  assigning  the  true. 

I.  Let  us  remove  the  false  ideas,  w^hich  at  first 
present  themselves  to  the  imagination  ;  as  if,  when 
we  say  that  God  is  present  in  any  place,  we  mean 
that  he  is  actually  contained  there  ;  as  if,  when  we 
say  that  God  is  in  every  place,  we  mean  to  assign  to 
him  a  real  and  proper  extension.  Neither  of  these 
is  designed ;  and  to  remove  these  ideas,  my  breth- 
ren, two  reflections  are  sufficient. 

God  is  a  Spirit.  A  spirit  cannot  be  in  a  place, 
at  least  in  the  manner  in  which  w^e  conceive  of  place. 

1.  God  is  a  Spirit.  What  relation  can  ye  find 
between  wisdom,  power,  mercy,  and  all  the  other 
attributes  which  enter  into  your  notion  of  the  di- 
vinity, and  the  nature  of  bodies  ?  Pulverise  matter, 
give  it  all  the  different  forms  of  which  it  is  suscept- 
ible, elevate  it  to  its  highest  degree  of  attainment, 
make  it  vast,  and  immense ;  moderate,  or  small ; 

VOT,.  T.  18 


13S  The  Omnipresence  of  God, 

luminous,  or  obscure  ;  opake,  or  transparent ;  there 
will  never  result  any  thing  but  figures,  and  never 
will  ye  be  able,  by  all  these  combinations,  or  di- 
visions, to  produce  one  single  sentiment,  one  single 
thought,  like  that  of  the  meanest  and  most  contract- 
ed of  all  mankind.  If  matter  then  cannot  be  the 
subject  of  one  single  operation  of  the  soul  of  a  me- 
chanic, how  should  it  be  the  subject  of  those  attri- 
butes which  make  the  essence  of  God  himself? 

But  perhaps  God,  who  is  spiritual  in  one  part  of 
his  essence,  may  be  corporeal  in  another  part,  like 
man,  who,  although  he  hath  a  spiritual  soul,  is  yet 
united  to  a  portion  of  matter  ?  No  ;  for,  however 
admirable  in  man  that  union  of  spiritual  and  sensi- 
ble may  be,  and  those  laws  which  unite  his  soul  to 
his  body,  nothing  more  fully  marks  his  weakness 
and  dependence,  and  consequently  nothing  can  less 
agree  w  ith  the  divine  essence.  Is  it  not  a  mark  of 
the  dependence  of  an  immortal  and  intelligent  soul, 
to  be  enveloped  in  a  little  flesh  and  blood,  wiiich, 
according  to  their  differeut  motions,  determine  his 
joy  or  sorrow,  his  happiness  or  misery  ?  Is  it  not  a 
mark  of  the  weakness  of  our  spirits  to  have  the 
power  of  acting  only  on  that  little  matter,  to  which 
we  are  united,  and  to  have  no  power  over  more  ? 
TV  ho  can  imagine  that  God  hath  such  limits?  He 
hath  no  body  ;  he  is  united  to  none  ;  yet  he  is  uni- 
ted to  all.  That  celebrated  philosopher,  shall  I 
call  him  ?  or  atheist,^  who  &aid  that  the  assemblage 

*  Mr.  S.  means,  I  should  suppose,  Spinoza :  whose  system  of 
atheism,  says  a  sensible  writer,  is  more  gross,  and  therefore  less 
dangerous  than  others  j  his  poison  carrying-  its  antidote  with  it- 


The  Omnipresence  of  God.  139 

of  all  existence  constituted  the  divine  essence,  who 
would  have  us  consider  all  corporeal  beings  as  the 
body  of  the  divinity,  published  a  great  extrava- 
gance, if  he  meant  that  the  divine  essence  consist- 
ed of  this  assemblage.  But  there  is  a  very  just 
sense,  in  which  it  may  be  said  that  the  whole  uni- 
verse is  the  body  of  the  Deity.  In  effect,  as  I  call 
this  portion  of  matter  my  body,  which  I  move,  act 
and  direct  as  I  please,  so  God  actuates  by  his  will 
every  part  of  the  universe  :  he  obscures  the  sun,  he 
calms  the  winds,  he  commands  the  sea.  But  this 
very  notion  excludes  all  corporiety  from  God,  and 
proves  that  God  is  a  spirit.  If  God  sometimes  re- 
presents himself  with  feet,  with  hands,  with  eyes,  he 
means  in  these  portraits,  rather  to  give  us  emblems 
of  his  attributes,  than  images  (properly  speaking) 
of  any  parts  which  he  possesseth.  Therefore,  when 
he  attributes  these  to  himself,  he  gives  them  so  vast 
an  extent,  that  we  easily  perceive,  they  are  not 
to  be  grossly  understood.  Hath  he  hands  ?  they 
are  hands  which  "  weigh  the  mountains  in  scales, 
and  the  hills  in  a  balance,  which  measure  the  wa- 
ters in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  mete  out  the 
heavens  with  a  span,"  Isa.  xl.  12.  Hath  he  eyes? 
they  are  eyes  that  penetrate  the  most  unmeasu- 
rable  distances.  Hath  he  feet  ?  they  are  feet  which 
reach  from  heaven  to  earth,  for  the  "  heaven  is  his 
throne,  and  the  earth  is  his  footstool,"  Isa.  Ixvi.  I. 
Hath  he  a  voice  ?  it  is  as  "  the  sound  of  many  wa- 
ters, breaking  the  cedars  of  Lebanon,  making  Mount 
Sirion  skip  like  an  unicorn,  and  the  hinds  to  calve," 
Ps.  xxix.  3,  5,  6,  9. 


140  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 

This  reminds  me  of  a  beautiful  passage  in  Plato. 
He  says  that  the  gods,  particularly  the  chief  good, 
the  ineffable  beauty,  as  he  calls  him,  cannot  be  con- 
ceived of  but  by  the  understanding  only,  and  by 
quitting  sensible  objects  ;  that  in  order  to  contem- 
plate the  divinity,  terrestrial  ideas  must  be  sur- 
mounted ;  that  the  eyes  cannot  see  him ;  that  the 
ears  cannot  hear  him.  A  thought  which  Julian  the 
apostate,  a  great  admirer  of  that  philosopher,  so 
nobly  expresses  in  his  satire  on  the  Caesars.  Thus 
every  thing  serves  to  establish  our  first  principle, 
that  God  is  a  Spirit. 

2.  But  to  prove  that  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  to  prove 
that  he  occupies  no  place,  at  least  as  our  imagin- 
ation conceives,  is,  in  our  opinion,  to  establish  the 
same  thesis. 

I  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  make  this  conse- 
quence intelligible  and  clear,  not  only  to  those  who 
have  never  been  accustomed  to  meditation,  and  who 
are  therefore  more  excusable  for  having  confused 
ideas ;  but  even  to  such  as,  having  cultivated  the 
sciences,  are  most  intent  on  refining  their  ideas.  I 
freely  acknowledge,  that  after  we  have  used  our 
utmost  efforts  to  rise  above  sense  and  matter,  it  will 
be  extremely  difficult  to  conceive  the  existence  of 
a  spirit,  without  conceiving  it  in  a  certain  place. 
Yet,  I  think,  whatever  difficulty  there  may  be  in 
the  system  of  those  who  maintain  that  an  immate- 
rial being  cannot  be  in  a  place,  properly  so  called, 
there  are  greater  difficulties  still  in  the  opposite 
opinion  :  for  what  is  immaterial  hath  n  >  parts ;  what 
hath  no  parts  hath  no  form ;  what  hath  no  form 


The  Omnipresence  of  God,  141 

liafb  no  extension  ;  what  hath  no  extension  can  have 
no  Situation  in  place,  properly  so  called.  For  what 
is  it  to  be  in  place  ?  is  it  not  to  fill  space,  is  it  not  to 
be  adjusted  with  surrounding  bodies  ?  how  adjust 
with  surrounding  bodies  without  parts  ?  how  consist 
of  parts,  without  being  corporeal  ?  But  if  ye  as- 
cribe a  real  and  proper  extension  to  a  spirit,  every 
thought  of  that  spirit  would  be  a  separate  portion 
on  that  extension,  as  every  part  of  the  body  is  a 
separate  portion  of  the  whole  body  :  every  opera- 
tion of  spirit  would  be  a  modification  of  that  exten- 
sion, as  every  operation  of  body  is  a  modification  of 
body  ;  and,  were  this  the  case,  there  would  be  no  ab- 
surdity in  saying  that  a  thought  is  round,  or  square, 
or  cubic,  which  is  nothing  less  than  the  confounding 
of  spirit  with  matter.  Thus  the  idea  which  our  im- 
agination forms  of  the  omnipresence  of  God,  when 
it  represents  the  essence  of  the  Supreme  Being  fil- 
ling infinite  spaces,  as  we  are  lodged  in  our  houses, 
is  a  false  idea  that  ought  to  be  carefully  avoided. 

11.  V\  hat  notions  then  must  we  form  of  the  im- 
mensity of  God  ?  in  what  sense  do  we  conceive  that 
the  infinite  spirit  is  every  where  present  ?  My  breth- 
ren, the  bounds  of  our  knowledge  are  so  strait,  our 
sphere  is  so  contracted,  we  have  such  imperfect 
ideas  of  spirits,  even  of  our  own  spirits,  and  for  a 
much  stronger  reason,  of  the  Father  of  spirits,  that 
no  genius  in  the  world,  however  exalted  ye  may 
suppose  him,  after  his  greatest  eflbrts  of  meditation, 
can  say  to  you.  Thus  far  extend  the  attributes  of 
God  ;  behold  a  complete  idea  of  his  immensity  and 
omnipresence.    Yet,  by  the  help  of  sound  reason^ 


142  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 

above  all,  by  the  aid  of  revelation,  we  may  give 
you,  if  not  complete,  at  least  distinct  ideas  of  the 
subject :  it  is  possible,  if  not  to  indicate  all  the  sen- 
ses in  which  God  is  immense,  at  least  to  point  out 
some :  it  is  possible,  if  not  to  shew  you  all  the 
truth,  at  least  to  discover  it  in  part. 

Let  us  not  conceive  the  omnipresence  of  God  as 
a  particular  attribute  (if  I  may  venture  to  say  so)  of 
the  Deity,  as  goodness  or  wisdom,  but  as  the  extent 
or  infinity  of  many  others.  The  omnipresence  of 
God  is  that  universal  property  by  which  he  com- 
municates himself  to  all,  diffuses  himself  through 
all,  is  the  great  director  of  all,  or,  to  confine  our- 
selves to  more  distinct  ideas  still,  the  infinite  spirit 
i«  present  in  every  place. 

1.  By  a  boundless  knowledge. 

2.  By  a  general  influence. 

3.  By  an  universal  direction. 

God  is  every  where,  because  he  seeth  all,  because 
he  influenceth  all,  because  he  directeth  all.  This  we 
must  prove  and  establish.  But  if  ye  would  judge 
rightly  of  what  ye  have  heard,  and  of  what  ye  may 
still  hear,  ye  must  remember  that  this  subject  hath 
no  relation  to  your  pleasure,  nor  to  your  policy, 
nor  to  any  of  those  objects  >vhich  occupy  and  fill 
your  whole  souls ;  and  consequently,  that  if  ye 
would  follow  us,  ye  must  stretch  your  meditation, 
and  go,  as  it  were,  out  of  yourselves. 

1.  The  first  idea  of  God's  omnipresence  is  his 
omniscience,  God  is  every  where  present,  because 
he  seeth  all.  This  the  prophet  had  principally  in 
view.    "  O  Lord,  thou  hast  searched  me,  and  known 


The  Omnipresence  of  God,  143 

me.  Thou  knoAvest  my  down-sitting  and  mine  up- 
rising, thou  understandest  my  thoughts  afar  off. 
Thou  compassest  my  path  and  my  lying  down,  and 
art  acquainted  with  all  my  ways.  For  there  is  not 
a  word  in  my  tongue,  but  lo,  O  Lord,  thou  know- 
est  it  altogether.  Thou  hast  beset  me  behind  and 
before.  Such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me  ; 
it  is  high,  I  cannot  attain  unto  it,"  verses  1,  2,  3,  &;c. 
Then  follow  the  words  of  our  text :  "  Whither  shall 
I  go  from  thy  spirit  ?"  and  so  on. 

Let  us  not  then  consider  the  Deity,  after  the  ex- 
ample of  the  schoolmen,  as  a  point  fixed  in  the  uni- 
versality of  beings.  Let  us  consider  the  universali- 
ty of  beings  as  a  point,  and  the  Deity  as  an  immense 
eye,  which  sees  all  that  passes  in  that  point,  all  that 
can  possibly  pass  there;  and  which,  by  an  all-an- 
imating intelligence,  makes  an  exact  combination 
of  all  the  effects  of  matter,  and  of  all  the  disposi- 
tions of  spirit. 

1.  God  knows  all  the  effects  of  matter.  An  ex- 
pert workman  takes  a  parcel  of  matter  proportion- 
ed to  a  work  which  he  meditates^  he  makes  divers 
wheels,  disposes  them  properly,  and  sees,  by  the 
rules  of  his  art,  w  hat  must  result  from  their  assem- 
blage. Suppose  a  sublime,  exact  genius,  knowing 
how  to  go  from  principle  to  principle,  and  from  con- 
sequence to  consequence,  after  foreseeing  what 
must  result  from  two  wheels  joined  together,  should 
imagine  a  third,  he  will  as  certainly  know  what 
must  result  from  a  third,  as  from  a  first  and  second  ; 
after  imagining  a  third,  he  may  imagine  a  fourth, 
and  properly  arrange  it  w  ith  the  rest  in  his  imagin- 


144  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 

ation  ;  after  a  fourth  a  fifth,  and  so  on  to  an  endless 
number.  Such  a  man  could  mathematically  de- 
monstrate, in  an  exact  and  infallible  manner,  wlsat 
must  result  from  a  work  composed  of  all  these  dif- 
ferent wheels.  Suppose  farther,  that  this  workman, 
having  accurately  considered  the  effects  which 
would  be  produced  on  these  wheels,  by  that  subtil 
matter  Avhich  in  their  whirlings  continually  sur- 
rounds them,  and  which,  by  its  perpetual  action  and 
motion,  chafes,  wears,  and  dissolves  all  bodies ;  this 
workman  would  tell  you,  with  the  same  exactness, 
how  long  each  of  these  wheels  would  wear,  and 
when  the  whole  work  would  be  consumed.  Give 
this  workman  life  and  industry  proportional  to  his 
imagination,  furnish  him  with  materials,  proportion- 
al to  his  ideas,  and  he  will  produce  a  vast,  immense 
work,  all  the  different  motions  of  which  he  can  ex- 
actly combine ;  all  the  different  effects  of  which  he 
can  evidently  foresee.  He  will  see,  in  what  time 
motion  will  be  communicated  from  the  first  of  these 
wheels  to  the  second,  at  what  time  the  second  will 
move  the  third,  and  so  of  the  rest ;  he  will  foretell 
all  their  different  motions,  and  all  the  effects  which 
must  result  from  their  different  combinations. 

Hitherto  this  is  only  supposition,  my  brethren, 
but  it  is  a  supposition  that  conducts  us  to  the  most 
certain  of  all  facts.  This  workman  is  God.  God 
is  this  sublime,  exact,  infinite  genius.  He  calls  into 
being  matter,  without  motion,  and,  in  some  sense, 
without  form.  He  gives  this  matter  form  and  mo- 
tion. He  makes  a  certain  number  of  wheels,  or  ra- 
ther he  makes  them  without  number.     He  disposes 


The  Omnipresence  of  God,  14^5 

them  as  he  thinks  proper.  He  communicates  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  motion  agreeable  to  tlie  laws  of  his 
wisdom.  Thence  arises  the  world  which  strikes 
our  eyes.  By  the  fore-mentioned  example,  I  con- 
ceive, that  God,  by  his  own  intelligence,  saw  what 
must  result  from  the  arrangement  of  all  the  wheels 
that  compose  this  world,  and  knew,  with  the  utmost 
exactness,  all  their  combinations.  He  saw  that  a 
certain  degree  of  motion,  imparted  to  a  certain  por- 
tion of  matter,  would  produce  water;  that  another 
degree  of  motion,  communicated  to  another  portion 
of  matter,  would  produce  fire ;  that  another  would 
produce  earth,  and  so  of  the  rest.  He  foresaw, 
with  the  utmost  precision,  what  would  result  from 
this  water,  from  this  fire,  from  this  earth  when  join- 
ed together,  and  agitated  by  such  a  degree  of  mo- 
tion as  he  should  communicate.  By  the  bare  in- 
spection of  the  laws  of  motion,  he  foresaw  fires,  he 
foresaw  shipwrecks,  he  foresaw  earthquakes,  he 
foresaw  all  the  vicissitudes  of  time,  he  foresaw 
those  which  must  put  a  period  to  time,  when  "  the 
heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  when 
the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  when  the 
earth  with  all  the  works  that  are  in  it  shall  be  burnt 
up,"  2Peteriii.  10. 

2.  But,  if  God  could  combine  all  that  would  re- 
sult from  the  laws  of  motion  communicated  to  mat- 
ter, he  could  also  combine  all  that  would  result  from 
intelligence,  freedom  of  will,  and  all  the  faculties 
which  make  the  essence  of  spirits ;  and,  before  he 
had  formed  all  those  spiritual  beings  which  compose 
the  intelligible  world,  he  knew  what  all  their  ideas^ 

VOL.  I.  19 


14&  The  Omnipresence  of  God, 

all  their  projects,  all  their  deliberations  would  for 
0ver  be. 

I  am  aware,  that  a  particular  consequence,  which 
follows  this  doctrine,  hath  made  some  divines  ex- 
claim against  this  thesis,  and,  under  the  specious  pre- 
tence of  exculpating  the  Deity  from  the  entrance  of 
sin  into  this  world,  they  have  affirmed  that  God 
could  not  foresee  the  determinations  of  a  free 
agent ;  for,  say  they,  had  he  foreseen  the  abuse 
which  man  v;ould  have  made  of  his  liberty,  in  re- 
solving to  sin,  his  love  to  holiness  would  have  enga- 
ged him  to  prevent  it.  But  to  reason  in  this  man- 
ner is,  in  attempting  to  solve  a  difficulty,  to  leave 
that  difficulty  in  all  its  force. 

All  that  they  say,  on  this  article,  proceeds  from 
this  principle,  that  a  God  infinitely  just,  and  infinite- 
ly powerful,  ought  to  display  (if  it  be  allowable  to 
say  so)  all  the  infinity  of  his  attributes  to  prevent 
sin.  ,  But  this  principle  is  notoriously  false.  Wit- 
ness that  very  permission  of  sin  which  is  objected 
to  us.  Ye  will  not  acknowledge  that  God  foresaw 
man's  fall  into  sin :  acknowledge,  at  least,  that  he 
foresaw  the  possibility  of  men's  falling,  and  that,  in 
forming  a  creature  free,  he  knew  that  such  a  crea- 
ture might  choose  virtue  or  vice ;  acknowledge,  at 
least,  that  God  could  have  created  man  with  so  much 
knowledge,  and  could  have  afforded  him  so  many 
succours ;  he  could  have  presented  such  powerful 
motives  to  holiness  incessantly,  and  discovered  to 
him  the  dreadful  consequences  of  his  rebellion  so 
effectually;  he  could  have  united  obedience  to  his 
commands  with  so  many  delights,  and  the  most  dis- 


The  Omnipresence  of  God.  147 

lant  thought  of  disobedience  with  so  many  disgusts  ; 
he  could  have  banished  from  man  every  temptation 
to  sin,  so  that  he  Avould  never  have  been  a  sinner. 
Yet  God  created  man  in  another  manner ;  conse- 
quently it  is  not  true,  even  in  your  system,  that  God 
hath  exerted  all  the  power  he  could  to  prevent  sin's 
entrance  into  the  w  orld.  Consequently  it  is  false, 
that  a  being,  who  perfectly  loves  holiness,  ought  to 
display  the  whole  extent  of  his  attributes  to  prevent 
sin,  and  to  establish  virtue.  Consequently,  the 
principle  on  which  ye  ground  your  denial  of  God's 
comprehension  of  all  the  dispositions  of  spirits,  is 
an  unwarrantable  principle,  and  to  attempt  to  solve 
the  difficulty,  in  this  manner,  is  to  leave  it  in  all  its 
force. 

But,  if  ye  consult  revelation,  ye  will  find  that 
God  claims  an  universal  knowledge  of  spirits.  He 
says  that  he  searcheth  and  knoweth  them,  .Ter.  xvii.  10. 
Rev.  ii.  23.  Gen.  xv.  13.  Exod.  iii.  19.  He  fore- 
saw%  he  foretold,  the  afflictions  Avhich  Abraham's 
posterity  w^ould  endure  in  Canaan,  the  hardening  of 
Pharaoh,  the  infidelity  of  the  .Tews,  the  faith  of  the 
Gentiles,  the  crucifixion  of  the  Messiah,  the  com- 
ing of  the  prince  or  leader,  that  is  of  Vespasian,  or 
Titus,  w^ho  would  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanctuary ^ 
Dan.  ix.  25,  26.  And  consequently,  we  have  a 
right  to  affirm  that  God  knows  all  the  thoughts  of 
the  mind,  and  all  the  sentiments  of  the  heart,  as 
well  as  that  he  knows  all  the  motions  of  matter. 

Perhaps  ye  w^ish,  my  brethren,  that  our  specula- 
tions were  carried  farther  ;  perhaps  ye  would  have 
us  disentangle  the  subject  from  all  its  difficulties ; 


148  The  Omnipresence  of  God, 

perhaps  ye  wish  we  could  make  you  comprehend, 
in  a  clear  and  distinct  manner,  how  it  is  possible  that 
such  immense  objects  can  be  always  present  to  the 
Supreme  Intelligence  ?  but  what  mortal  mouth  can 
express  such  sublime  truths,  or  what  capacity  is  able 
to  conceive  them !  On  this  article,  we  are  obliged 
with  our  prophet  to  exclaim,  "  such  knowledge  is 
too  wonderful  for  me,  it  is  high:  I  cannot  attain 
unto  it !"  verse  6.  In  general,  we  conceive  that 
the  sphere  of  divine  knowledge  is  not  contracted 
by  any  of  the  limits  that  confine  the  spirits  of  man- 
kind. 

The  human  spirit  is  united  to  a  portion  of  mat- 
ter. Man  can  perform  no  operation  without  the 
agitation  of  his  brain,  without  the  motion  of  his  an- 
imal spirits,  without  the  help  of  his  senses.  But 
the  brain  wearies,  the  spirits  dissipate,  the  senses 
are  blunted,  and  the  minutest  alteration  of  body 
clogs  the  most  penetrating  and  active  genius.  But 
God,  as  we  have  represented  him,  thinks,  under- 
stands, meditates,  without  brain,  without  spirits, 
without  any  need  of  senses  ;  not  participating  their 
nature,  he  never  participates  their  alteration,  and 
thus  hath  intelligence  immediately  from  the  treasure 
of  intelligence  itself. 

The  spirit  of  man  owes  its  existence  to  a  superi- 
or spirit,  to  a  foreign  cause,  to  a  Being  who  gives 
him  only  such  ideas  as  he  thinks  proper,  and  who 
hath  been  pleased  to  conceal  numberless  mysteries 
from  him.  But  God,  God  not  only  does  not  owe 
his  existence  to  a  foreign  cause,  but  all  that  exist 
derive  their  existence  from  him.    His  ideas  were 


The  Omnipresence  of  God,  149 

the  models  of  all  beings,  and  he  hath  only  to  con- 
template himself  perfectly  to  know  tliem. 

The  spirit  of  man  is  naturally  a  finite  spirit ;  he 
can  consider  only  one  circle  of  objects  at  once,  ma- 
ny ideas  confound  him ;  if  he  would  see  too  much 
he  sees  nothing,  he  must  successively  contemplate 
■what  he  cannot  contemplate  in  one  moment.  But 
God  is  an  infinite  spirit ;  with  one  single  look 
he  beholdeth  the  whole  universe.  This  is  the  first 
idea  of  the  omnipresence  of  God.  As  I  am  ac- 
counted present  in  this  auditory,  because  I  see  the 
objects  that  are  here,  because  I  am  witness  of  all 
that  passes  here ;  so  God  is  every  where,  because 
he  sees  all,  because  veils  the  most  impenetrable, 
darkness  the  most  thick,  distances  the  most  im- 
mense, can  conceal  nothing  from  his  knowledge. 
Soar  to  the  utmost  heights,  fly  into  the  remotest  cli- 
mates, wrap  thyself  in  the  blackest  darkness,  eve- 
ry where,  every  where,  thou  wilt  be  under  his  eye. 
*'  Whither  shall  I  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  or  whither 
shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence  ?" 

But,  2.  The  knowledge  of  God  is  not  a  bare 
knowledge,  his  presence  is  not  an  idle  presence  ;  it 
is  an  active  knowledge,  it  is  a  presence  accompani- 
ed with  action  and  motion.  We  said,  just  now,  that 
God  was  every  where,  because  he  iitftuenced  all,  as 
far  as  influence  could  agree  with  his  perfections.  Re- 
mark this  restriction,  for,  as  we  are  discussing  a 
subject  the  most  fertile  in  controversy,  and,  as  in  a 
discourse  of  an  hour,  it  is  impossible  to  answer  all  ob- 
jections, which  may  be  all  answered  elscAvhere,  w^e 
would  give  a  general  preservative  against  every  mis- 


150  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 

take.  We  mean  an  influence  which  agrees  with  the 
divine  perfections ;  and  if,  from  any  of  our  general 
propositions,  ye  infer  any  consequences  injurious  to 
those  perfections,  ye  may  conchide,  for  that  very 
reason,  that  ye  have  stretched  them  beyond  their 
due  bounds.  We  repeat  it  then,  God  influenceth 
all  things,  as  far  as  such  influence  agrees  with  his 
perfections. 

When  new  beings  appear,  he  is  there.  He  in- 
fluences their  production.  He  gives  to  all  life^  mo- 
Hon,  and  being,  Acts  xvii.  28.  Neh.  ix.  6.  "  Thou, 
even  thou  art  Lord  alone,  thou  hast  made  heaven, 
the  heaven  of  heavens  with  all  their  host,  the  earth 
and  all  things  that  are  therein,  the  seas  and  all  that 
is  therein,  and  thou  preservest  them  all,  and  the 
host  of  heaven  worshippeth  thee. — O  Lord,  I  will 
praise  thee,  for  I  am  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made ;  marvellous  are  thy  works,  and  that  my  soul 
knoweth  right  well,"  Ps.  cxxxix.  14,  15,  16.  "My 
substance  was  not  hid  from  thee,  when  I  was  made 
in  secret,  and  curiously  wrought  in  the  lowest  parts 
of  the  earth.  Thine  eyes  did  see  my  substance  yet 
being  unperfect,  and  in  thy  book  all  my  members 
were  written,  which  in  continuance  were  fashioned, 
when  as  yet  there  was  none  of  them. — Thine  hands 
have  made  me,  and  fashioned  me  together  round 
about.  Thou  hast  clothed  me  with  skin  and  flesh, 
and  hast  fenced  me  W'ith  bones  and  sinews,"  Ps. 
xxxvi.  5,  6.  When  beings  are  preserved,  he  is  there. 
He  influences  their  preservation.  "  Thy  mercy,  O 
Lord,  is  in  the  heavens,  and  thy  faithfulness  reach- 
eth  unto  the  clouds.    Thou  preservest  man  and 


The  Omniprestnct  of  God,  151 

beast.  When  thou  openest  thy  hand  they  are  filled 
with  good :  thou  hidest  thy  face  they  are  troubled, 
thou  takest  av/ay  their  breath  they  die,  and  return 
to  their  dust.  Thou  sendest  forth  thy  spirit,  they 
are  created,  and  thou  renevvest  the  face  of  the 
earth,"  Ps.  civ.  28,  29,  30. 

When  the  world  is  disordered,  he  is  there.  He 
influenceth  wars,  pestilences,  famines,  and  all  the 
vicissitudes  which  disorder  the  world.  If  nature 
refuse  her  productions,  it  is  because  he  hath  "  nictde 
the  heaven  as  iron,  and  the  earth  as  brass,"  Lev. 
xxvi.  19.  If  peace  succeed  war,  he  makes  both. 
If  "  lions  slay  the  inhabitants  of  Samaria,"  it  is 
"  the  Lord  who  sends  them,"  2  Kings  xvii.  25. 
When  tempestuous  winds  break  down  those  im- 
mense banks  which  your  industry  has  opposed  to 
them,  when  a  devouring  fire  reduceth  your  houses 
to  ashes,  it  is  he  who  "  makes  the  winds  his  messen- 
gers, and  his  ministers  flames  of  fire,"  Ps.  civ.  4. 

When  every  thing  succeeds  according  to  our 
wishes,  he  is  there.  He  influenceth  prosperity. 
"  Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labour  in 
vain  that  build  it.  Except  the  Lord  keep  the  city, 
the  watchman  waketh  but  in  vain.  It  is  vain  for 
you  to  rise  up  early,  to  sit  up  late,  to  eat  the  bread 
of  sorrows.  It  is  God  who  giveth  his  beloved 
sleep,"  Ps.  cxxvii.  1,  2. 

When  our  understanding  is  informed,  he  is  there. 
He  influenceth  our  knowledge.  For  "  in  his  light 
we  see  light,"  Ps.  xxxvi.  10.  "  He  lighteth  every 
man  that  cometh  into  the  world,"  John.  i.  9.^ 


152  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 

When  our  heart  disposeth  us  to  our  duties,  he  is 
there.  He  influenceth  our  virtues.  It  is  he  who 
"  worketh  in  us,  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  own 
good  pleasure,"  Phil.  ii.  13.  i.  29.  It  is  he  who 
*'  giveth  us  not  only  to  believe,  but  to  sutler  for  his 
sake,"  Phil.  i.  29.  It  is  he  who  "  giveth  to  all  that 
ask  him  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not,"  James  i.  5. 

When  the  grossest  errors  cover  us,  he  is  there. 
He  influenceth  errors.  It  is  God  who  "  sends  strong 
delusions  that  men  should  believe  a  lie,"  2  Thess.  ii. 
31.  "Go  make  the  heart  of  this  people  fat,  and  make 
their  ears  heavy,  and  shut  their  eyes,  lest  they  should 
see  w^ith  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,"  Isa. 
vi.  10. 

When  we  violate  the  laws  of  righteousness,  he  is 
there.  He  influenceth  sins,  even  the  greatest  sins. 
Witness  Pharaoh,  whose  "heart  he  hardened,"  Ex- 
od.  iv.  21.  Witness  Shimei,  whom  "  the  Lord 
bade  to  curse  David,"  2  Sam.  xvi.  11.  Witness 
what  Isaiah  said,  "  the  Lord  hath  mingled  a  per- 
Terse  spuit  in  the  midst  of  Egypt,"  Isa.  xix.  14. 

W^hen  magistrates,  our  earthly  gods,  consult  and 
deliberate,  he  is  there.  He  influenceth  policy.  It 
is  he  who  "hath  the  hearts  of  kings  in  his  hand,  and 
turneth  them  as  the  rivers  of  water,"  Prov.  xxi.  1. 
It  i§  he  who  "  giveth  kings  in  his  anger,  and  taketh 
them  away  in  his  wrath,"  Hos.  xiii.  11.  It  is  he 
who  maketh  "  the  Assyrian  the  rod  of  his  anger," 
Isa.  x.  5.  "  tierod  and  Pilate,  the  Gentiles  and  the 
people  of  Israel  did  what  his  hand  and  his  counsel 
determined  before  to  be  done,"  Acts  iv.  27, 28. 


The  Omnipresence  of  God,  153 

When  we  live,  when  we  die,  he  is  there.  He  in- 
fluenceth  life  and  death.  "  Man's  days  are  deter- 
mined, the  number  of  his  months  are  with  him,  he 
has  appointed  his  bounds  that  he  cannot  pass,"  Job 
xiv.  5.  "  To  God  the  Lord  belong  the  issues  from 
death,"  Ps.  Ixviii.  20.  "  He  bringeth  down  to  the 
grave,  and  bringeth  up,"  1  Sam.  ii.  6. 

He  influences  the  least  events  as  well  as  the  most 
considerable.  Not  being  fatigued  with  the  care  of 
great  things,  he  can  occupy  himself  about  the  small- 
est without  prejudice  to  the  rest ;  "  number  the  hairs 
of  our  heads,"  and  not  let  even  "  a  sparrow  fall 
without  his  Avill,"  Matt.  x.  29,  30. 

But,  3.  When  God  communicates  himself  to  all, 
when  he  thus  acts  on  all,  when  he  diffuseth  himself 
thus  through  the  whole,  he  relates  all  to  his  own  de- 
signs, and  makes  all  serve  his  own  counsels :  and 
this  is  our  third  idea  of  his  immensity  and  omni- 
presence. God  is  present  with  all,  because  he  di- 
rects all. 

Doth  he  call  creatures  mto  existence  ?  It  is  to  man- 
ifest his  perfections.  It  is  to  have  subjects  on 
whom  he  may  shower  his  favours;  it  is,  as  it  were, 
to  go  out  of  himself,  and  to  form  through  the  whole 
universe  a  concert  resounding  the  Creator's  exist- 
ence and  glory.  "  For  the  invisible  things  of  God, 
even  his  eternal  power  and  Godhead  are  understood 
by  the  things  that  are  made,"  Rom.  i.  20.  "  The 
heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firma- 
ment sheweth  his  handy-work.  Day  unto  day  ut- 
tereth  speech,  night  unto  night  sheweth  knowledge. 

VOL.  I.  20 


154  The  Omnipresence  of  God, 

There  is  no  speech  nor  language  where  their  voice 
is  not  heard,  Ps.  xix.  1,2,  3. 

Doth  he  preserve  creatures  ?  It  is  to  answer  his 
own  designs,  the  depth  of  which  no  finite  mind  can 
fathom  ;  but  designs  which  we  shall  one  day  know, 
and  admire  his  wisdom  when  we  know  them,  as  we 
adore  it  now,  though  we  know  them  not. 

Doth  he  send  plagues,  wars,  famines  ?  It  is  to 
make  those  feel  his  justice  who  have  abused  his 
goodness,  it  is  to  avenge  the  violation  of  his  law, 
the  contempt  of  his  gospel,  the  forgetting  and  the 
forsaking  of  the  interest  of  his  church. 

Doth  he  afford  us  prosperity  ?  It  is  to  draw  us 
with  the  bands  of  love,  Hos.  xi.  4.  it  is  to  reveal  him- 
self to  us  by  that  love  which  is  his  essence ;  it  is  to 
engage  us  to  imitate  him,  who  never  leaves  himself 
without  witness  in  doing  good,  Acts  xiv.  1 7. 

Doth  he  impart  knowledge  to  us  ?  It  is  to  discov- 
er the  snares  that  surround  us,  the  miseries  that 
threaten  us,  the  origin  from  which  we  sprang,  the 
course  of  life  that  we  should  follow,  and  the  end 
at  which  we  should  aim. 

Doth  he  communicate  virtues  ?  It  is  to  animate 
us  in  our  race  ;  it  is  to  convince  us  that  there  is  a 
mighty  arm  to  raise  us  from  the  abyss  into  which 
our  natural  corruption  hath  plunged  us;  it  is  that  we 
may  "  work  out  our  own  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling,  knowing  that  God  worketh  in  us  to 
will  and  to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure,"  Phil,  ii* 
12,  13. 

Doth  he  send  us  error  ?  It  is  to  make  us  respect 
that  truth  which  we  have  resisted. 


The  Omnipresmce  of  God.  155 

Doth  he  abandon  us  to  our  vices  ?  It  is  to  punish 
us  for  some  other  vices  which  we  have  committed 
voluntarily  and  freely ;  so  that,  if  we  could  com- 
prehend it,  his  love  for  holiness  never  appears  more 
clearly,  than  when  he  abandons  men  to  vice  in  this 
manner. 

Doth  he  raise  up  kings  ?  It  is  always  to  oblige 
them  to  administer  justice,  to  protect  the  widow 
and  the  orphan,  to  maintain  order  and  religion. 
Yet,  he  often  permits  them  to  violate  equity,  to 
oppress  their  people,  and  to  become  the  scourges  of 
his  anger.  By  them  lie  frequently  teacheth  us  how 
little  account  he  makes  of  human  grandeurs ;  seeing 
he  bestows  them  sometimes  upon  unworthy  men, 
upon  men  allured  by  voluptuousness,  governed  by 
ambition,  and  dazzled  with  their  own  glory  ;  upon 
men  who  ridicule  piety,  sell  their  consciences,  ne- 
gociate  faith  and  religion,  sacrificing  the  souls  of 
their  children  to  the  infeimous  passions  that  govern 
themselves. 

Doth  he  prolong  our  life  ?  It  is  because  he  is  long 
suffering  to  us,  2  Pet.  iii.  9.  it  is  because  he  opens 
in  our  favour  the  riches  of  his  goodness,  and  forbear- 
ance, to  lead  us  to  repentance,  Rom.  ii.  4. 

Doth  he  call  us  to  die  ?  It  is  to  open  those  eternal 
books  in  which  our  actions  are  registered  ;  it  is  to 
gather  our  souls  into  his  bosom,  to  hind  them  up  in 
the  bundle  of  life,  1  Sam.  xxv.  29.  to  mix  them  with 
the  ransomed  armies  of  all  nations,  tongues,  and 
people,  Rev.  vii.  9. 

Such  are  our  ideas  of  the  omnipresence  of  God. 
Thus  God  seeth  all,  influenceth  all,  diiecteth  alL 


1 56  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 

In  this  sense  we  are  to  understand  this  magnificent 
language  of  scripture.  "  Will  God  indeed  dwell 
on  the  earth  ?  Behold  the  heaven,  and  heaven  of 
heavens  cannot  contain  thee,"  1  Kings  viii.  27. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord,  "  The  heaven  is  my  throne, 
and  the  earth  is  my  footstool.  Where  is  the  house 
that  ye  build  unto  me  ?  Do  not  I  fill  heaven  and 
eavih,  saith  the  Lord  ?"  Isa.  Ixvi.  L  "  Am  I  a  God 
at  hand,  and  not  a  God  afar  off?  Can  any  hide  him- 
self in  secret  places  that  I  shall  not  see  him?"  Jer. 
xxiii.  23,  24.  This  is  what  the  heathens  had  a 
glimpse  of,  when  they  said,  that  God  was  a  circle, 
the  centre  of  which  was  every  where,  and  its  cir- 
cumference no  where — That  all  things  were  full  of 
Jupiter — That  he  filled  all  his  works — That,  fly 
whither  we  would,  v»  e  were  always  before  his  eyes. 
This  is  what  the  followers  of  j\iohammed  meant, 
when  they  said,  that  where  there  were  tw^o  persons, 
God  made  the  third  :  where  there  were  three,  God 
made  the  fourth.  Above  all,  this  was  our  prophet's 
meaning  throughout  the  Psalm,  a  part  of  which  we 
have  explained.  "  O  Lord,  thou  hast  searched  me 
"  and  known  me.  Thou  know  est  my  down-sitting 
"  and  mine  up-rising,  thou  understandest  my  thought 
"  afar  off.  Thou  compassest  my  path  and  my  lying 
"  down,  and  art  acquainted  with  all  my  ways.  For 
"  there  is  not  a  word  in  my  tongue,  but  lo,  O  Lord, 
"  thou  knowest  it  altogether.  Thou  hast  beset  me 
"  behind  and  before,  and  laid  thine  hand  upon  me. 
"  Such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me,  I  can- 
"  not  attain  unto  it.  Wliither  shall  I  go  from  thy 
"  spirit  ?  or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  thy  presence  ? 


The  Omnipresence  of  God.  1 57 

*"  if  I  ascend  up  into  heaven,  thou  art  there.  If  I 
"  make  my  bed  in  hell,  beliold  thou  art  there.  If  I 
"  take  the  wings  of  the  morning,  and  dwell  in  the 
"  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea ;  even  there  shall  thy 
"  hand  lead  me,  and  thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me. 
"  If  I  say,  Surely  the  darkness  shall  cover  me ; 
"  even  the  night  shall  be  light  about  me.  Yea,  the 
"  darkness  hideth  not  from  thee ;  but  the  night  shi- 
"  neth  as  the  day  :  the  darkness  and  the  light  are 
"  both  alike  to  thee,"  ver.  1.  and  following:. 

But  perhaps,  during  the  course  of  this  medita- 
tion, ye  may  have  murmured  at  our  presenting  an 
oliject,  of  which  all  the  preaching  in  the  w^orld  can 
give  you  but  imperfect  ideas.  Suspend  your  judg- 
ments, we  are  going  to  shew^  you  whither  this  dis- 
course, all  glimmering  as  it  is,  ought  to  conduct 
you.  Ye  are  going  to  see  what  salutary  conse- 
quences follow  our  efforts,  even  the  weak  efforts 
that  we  have  been  making  to  explain  the  grandeur 
and  omnipresence  of  God.  Let  us  pass  to  the  con- 
clusion, the  chief  design  of  this  discourse. 

1.  Our  first  reflection  is  on  the  difficulties  that  we 
meet  with  in  fixing  our  minds  on  such  subjects  as 
we  have  been  hearing.  Ye  have  doubtless  expe- 
rienced, if  ye  have  endeavoured  to  follow  us,  that 
ye  are  weary,  and  wander  w hen  ye  would  go  be- 
yond matter.  Our  minds  find  almost  nothing  real, 
where  they  meet  with  nothing  sensible.  As  if  the 
whole  essence  of  beings  were  corporeal,  the  mind 
loseth  its  way  when  it  ceaseth  to  be  directed  by  bo- 
dies, and  it  needs  the  help  of  imagination  to  repre- 
sent even  those  things  which  are  not  susceptible  of 


158  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 

images ;  and  yet  whatever  is  most  grand  and  noble 
in  the  nature  of  beings  is  spirit.  The  sublimest  ob- 
jects, angels  who  are  continually  before  God,  sera- 
phims  who  cover  their  faces  in  his  presence,  cheru- 
bims  who  are  the  ministers  of  his  will,  thousand 
thousands  which  minister  unto  him,  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  ?vhich  stand  before  him  j  Isa.  vi.  2.  Dan. 
vii.  10.  What  is  most  glorious  in  man,  what  elevates 
him  above  other  animals?  A  soul  made  in  the  image 
of  God  himself;  the  Being  of  beings,  the  Sove- 
reign Beauty :  All  these  beings  are  spiritual,  ab- 
stract, free  from  sense  and  matter.  Moreover,  what 
pleases  and  enchants  us  in  bodies,  even  that  comes 
from  a  subject  abstract,  spiritual  and  incorporeal. 
Without  your  soul,  aliments  have  no  taste,  flowers 
no  smell,  the  earth  no  enamel,  fire  no  heat,  the  stars 
no  brilliancy,  the  sun  no  light.  Matter  of  itself  is 
void,  and  gross,  destitute  of  all  the  qualities  with 
which  our  imagination  clothes  it,  and  which  are 
proper  to  our  souls.  What  ought  we  to  conclude 
from  this  reflection  ?  My  brethren,  have  ye  any  idea 
of  your  dignity,  and  primitive  grandeur  ?  Have  ye 
yet  some  few  faint  resemblances  of  beings  formed 
in  the  Creator's  image  ?  ye  ought,  feeble  as  ye  are, 
confined  as  ye  are  in  a  manner  to  matter,  ye  should 
deplore  your  misery,  ye  should  groan  under  that 
necessity,  which,  in  some  sort,  confounds  your  soul 
with  a  little  dust,  ye  should  sigh  after  that  happy 
state  in  which  your  rapid,  free  and  unclogged  souls 
shall  meditate  like  themselves.  This  is  the  fiirst  du- 
ty that  we  would  prescribe  to  you. 


The  Omnipresence  of  God^  159 

2.  Our  next  reflection  is  on  the  majesty  of  our  re- 
ligion. That  must  certainly  be  thought  the  true  re- 
ligion which  gives  us  the  grandest  ideas  of  God. 
Let  our  religion  be  judged  by  this  rule.  Where  do 
we  see  the  attributes  of  the  Supreme  Being  placed 
in  so  clear  a  light  ?  what  can  be  more  noble  than 
this  idea  of  God  ?  what  can  be  conceived  more  sub- 
lime than  a  Being  whom  nothing  escapes,  before 
whom  all  things  are  naked  and  open,  Heb.  iv.  13. 
who,  by  one  single  look,  fully  comprehends  all  be- 
ings past,  present  and  to  come,  all  that  do  exist,  all 
that  possibly  can  exist  ?  who  thinks,  in  the  same  in- 
stant, with  equal  facility  on  bodies  and  spirits,  on 
all  the  dimensions  of  time  and  of  matter  ?  What 
more  noble  can  be  conceived  than  a  Being  who  im- 
parteth  himself  to  all,  diffuseth  himself  through  all, 
influenceth  all,  giveth  life  and  motion  to  all  ?  What 
can  be  conceived  more  noble  than  a  Being  who 
directeth  the  conduct  of  the  whole  universe,  who 
knoweth  how  to  make  all  concur  to  his  designs, 
who  knoweth  how  to  relate  alike  to  the  laws  of 
order  and  equity,'  the  virtues  of  the  righteous, 
the  vices  of  the  wicked,  the  praises  of  the  happy, 
the  blasphemies  of  the  victims  sacrificed  to  his 
vengeance  in  hell  ?  When  we  find  in  any  heathen 
philosopher,  amidst  a  thousand  false  notions,  a- 
midst  a  thousand  wild  imaginations,  some  few 
leaves  of  the  flowers  with  which  our  Bibles  are 
strewed,  we  are  ready  to  cry  a  miracle,  a  mir- 
acle, we  transmit  these  shreds  of  the  Deity  (if  I 
may  be  allowed  to  speak  so)  to  the  most  distant 
posterity,  and  these  ideas,  all  maimed,  and  all  de- 


160  The  Omnipresence  of  God, 

filed  as  tliey  are,  procure  their  authors  an  immortal 
reputation.  On  this  principle,  what  respect,  what 
veneration,  what  deference  ou^lit  we  to  have  for 
the  Patriarchs  and  the  Prophets,  for  the  Evangelists 
and  the  Apostles,  who  spoke  of  God  in  so  sublime  a 
manner !  But  be  not  surprized  at  their  superiority 
over  the  great  pagan  geniusses ;  if  the  biblical  writers, 
like  them,  had  been  guided  only  by  human  reason, 
like  them  they  would  have  wandered  too.  If  they 
spoke  so  nobly  of  God,  it  w^as  because  they  had 
received  that  "  spirit  who  searcheth  all  things,  yea 
the  deep  things  of  God,"  1  Cor.  ii.  10.  It  was  be- 
cause "  all  Scripture  was  given  by  inspiration,"  2 
Tim.  iii.  16.  It  was  because  "  the  prophecy  came 
not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of  man,  but  holy  men  of 
God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost," 
2  Pet.  i.  21. 

3.  Make  a  third  reflection.  This  grandeur  of 
God  removes  the  greatest  stumbling-blocks  that 
sceptics  and  infidels  pretend  to  meet  with  in  reli- 
gion. It  justifies  all  those  dark  mysteries  which  are 
above  the  comprehension  of  our  feeble  reason.  AVe 
would  not  make  use  of  this  reflection  to  open  a 
way  for  human  fancies,  and  to  authorise  every 
thing  that  is  presented  to  us  under  the  idea  of  the 
marvellous.  All  doctrines  that  are  incomprehensi- 
ble are  not  divine,  nor  ought  we  to  embrace  any 
opinion  merely  because  it  is  beyond  our  knowledge. 
But  when  a  religion,  in  other  respects,  hath  good 
guarantees,  when  we  have  good  arguments  to  prove 
that  such  a  revelation  comes  from  heaven,  when  we 
certainly  know  that  it  is  God  who  speaks,  ought  we 


The  Omnipresence  of  God.  161 

to  be  surprised  if  ideas  of  God,  which  come  so  ful- 
ly authenticated,  absorb  and  confound  us  ?  I  freely 
grant,  that,  had  I  consulted  my  own  reason  only,  I 
could  not  have  discovered  some  mysteries  of  the 
gospel.  Nevertheless,  when  I  think  on  the  gran- 
deur of  God,  when  I  cast  my  eyes  on  that  vast 
ocean,  w^hen  I  consider  that  immense  all,  nothing 
astonishes  me,  nothing  stumbles  me,  nothing  seems 
to  me  inadmissible,  how  incomprehensible  soever 
it  may  be.  When  the  subject  is  divine,  I  am  ready 
to  believe  all,  to  admit  all,  to  receive  all ;  provided 
I  be  convinced  that  it  is  God  himself  who  speaks  to 
me,  or  any  one  on  his  part.  After  this,  I  am  no 
more  astonished  that  there  are  three  distinct  persons 
in  one  divine  essence ;  one  God,  and  yet  a  Father, 
a  Son,  and  a  Holy  Ghost.  After  this,  I  am  no  more 
astonished  that  God  foresees  all  without  forcing 
any ;  permits  sin  without  forcing  the  sinner  ;  ordains 
free  and  intelligent  creatures  to  such  and  such  ends, 
without  destroying  their  intelligence,  or  their 
liberty.  After  this,  I  am  no  more  astonished,  that 
the  justice  of  God  required  a  satisfaction  pro- 
portional to  his  greatness,  that  his  own  love  hath 
provided  that  satisfaction,  and  that  God,  from  the 
abundance  of  his  compassion,  designed  the  mystery 
of  an  incarnate  God ;  a  mystery  which  angels  ad- 
mire while  sceptics  oppose ;  a  mystery  which  ab- 
sorbs human  reason,  but  which  fills  all  heaven  with 
songs  of  praise ;  a  mystery  which  is  the  great  mys- 
tery,  1  Tim.  iii.  16.  by  excellence,  but  the  greatness 
of  which  nothing  should  make  us  reject,  since  reli- 
gion proposeth  it  as  the  grand  effort  of  the  wisdom 

VOL.  I.  21 


1 62  The  Omnipresence  of  God, 

of  the  incomprehensible  God,  and  commandeth  us 
to  receive  it  on  the  testimony  of  the  incomprehen- 
sible God  himself.  Either  religion  must  tell  us  no- 
thing about  God,  or  what  it  tells  us  must  be  beyond 
our  capacities,  and,  in  discovering  even  the  borders 
of  this  immense  ocean,  it  must  needs  exhibit  a  vast 
extent  in  which  our  feeble  eyes  are  lost.  But  what 
surprises  me,  w  hat  stumbles  me,  what  frightens  me, 
is  to  see  a  diminutive  creature,  a  contemptible  man, 
a  little  ray  of  light  glimmering  through  a  few  fee- 
ble organs,  controvert  a  point  with  the  Supreme 
Being,  oppose  that  Intelligence  who  sitteth  at  the 
helm  of  the  world  ;  question  what  he  affirms,  dis- 
pute wliat  he  determines,  appeal  from  his  decisions, 
and,  even  after  God  hath  given  evidence,  reject  all 
doctrines  that  are  beyond  his  capacity.  Enter  into 
thy  nothingness,  mortal  creature.  What  madness 
animates  thee  ?  How  durst  thou  pretend,  thou  who 
art  but  a  point,  thou  whose  essence  is  but  an  atom, 
to  measure  thyself  with  the  Supreme  Being,  with 
Him  who  fills  heaven  and  earth,  with  Him  whom 
"heaven,  the  heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain?'* 
1  Kings  viii.  27.  "  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out 
God  ?  Canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty  to  perfec- 
tion ?  high  as  heaven  what  canst  thou  do  ?  deeper 
than  hell  what  canst  thou  know  ?"  .Job  xi.  7.  "  He 
stretcheth  out  the  north  over  the  empty  place,  and 
hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing.  He  bindeth  up 
the  waters  in  his  thick  clouds,  the  pillars  of  heaven 
tremble,  and  are  astonished  at  his  reproof.  Lo,  these 
are  parts  of  his  ways,  but  how  little  a  portion  is 
heard  of  hhn ;  but  the  thunder  of  his  power  who 


The  Omnipresence  of  God.  163 

can  understand  ?"  Job  xxvi.  7,  11,  14.  "Gird  up 
now  thy  loins  like  a  man ;  for  I  will  demand  of  thee, 
and  answer  tliou  me.  Where  wast  thou  when  I  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?  Declare,  if  thou  hast 
understanding.  Who  hath  laid  the  measures  there- 
of? who  hath  stretched  the  line  upon  it  ?  where- 
upon are  the  foundations  thereof  fastened  ?  who  laid 
the  corner-stone  thereof,  when  the  morning  stars 
sang  together,  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for 
joy  ?  Who  shut  up  the  sea  with  doors,  when  I  made 
the  cloud  the  garment  thereof,  and  thick  darkness  a 
swaddling-band  for  it  ?  when  I  brake  up  for  it  my 
decreed  place,  and  set  bars  and  doors,  and  said, 
"  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come  and  no  farther :  and  here 
shall  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed  ?"  Job  xxxviii.  3,  4, 
5,  &c.  "  He  that  reproveth  God  let  him  answer 
this.  O  Lord,  such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for 
me  :  it  is  too  high,  I  cannot  attain  unto  it !"  Job 
xl.  2. 

4.  But  my  brethren,  shall  these  be  the  only  in- 
ferences from  our  text  ?  shall  we  reap  only  specu- 
lations from  this  discourse  ?  shall  we  only  believe, 
admire,  and  exclaim  ?  Ah  !  from  this  idea  of  God  I 
see  all  the  virtues  issue  which  religion  prescribes ! 
If  such  be  the  grandeur  of  the  God  whom  I  adore, 
miserable  wretch!  what  ought  my  repentance  to  be! 
I,  a  contemptible  worm,  I,  a  creature  whom  God 
could  tread  beneath  his  feet,  and  crush  into  dust  by 

single  act  of  his  will,  I  have  rebelled  against  the 

great  God,  I  have  endeavoured   to  provoke  him  to 

jealousy^  as  if  I  had  been  stronger  than  he,  1  Cor.  x. 

22.     I  have  insulted  that  majesty  which  the  angels 

of  God  adore ;  I  have  attacked  God,  with  madness 


164  The  Ommpresence  of  God. 

and  boldness,  on  his  throne,  and  in  his  empire.  Is 
it  possible  to  feel  remorses  too  cutting  for  sins  which 
the  grandeur  of  the  offended,  and  the  littleness  of 
the  offender,  make  so  very  atrocious  ? 

5.  If  such  be  the  grandeur  of  God,  what  should 
our  humility  be !  Grandees  of  the  world,  mortal  di- 
vinities, who  swell  with  vanity  in  the  presence  of 
God,  oppose  yourselves  to  the  immense  God.  Be- 
hold his  eternal  ideas,  his  infinite  knowledge,  his 
general  influence,  his  universal  direction ;  enter  his 
immense  ocean  of  perfections  and  virtues,  w^hat  are 
ye  ?  A  grain  of  dust,  a  point,  an  atom,  a  nothing  ! 

6.  If  such  be  the  grandeur  of  God,  Avhat  ought 
our  confidence  to  be !  "  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can 
be  against  us  ?"  Rom.  viii.  31*  Poor  creature,  toss- 
ed about  the  world,  as  by  so  many  winds,  by  hun- 
ger, by  sickness,  by  persecution,  by  misery,  by  na- 
kedness, by  exile  ;  fear  not  in  a  vessel  of  which  God 
Himself  is  the  pilot. 

7.  But  above  all,  if  such  be  the  grandeur  of  God, 
if  God  be  every  where  present,  what  should  our  vi- 
gilance be !  and,  to  return  to  the  idea  w  ith  which 
we  began,  what  impression  should  this  thought  make 
on  reasonable  souls  !  "  God  seeth  me.  When  thou 
wast  under  the  fig-tree,"  said  Jesus  Christ  to  Na- 
thaniel, "  I  saw  thee,"  John  i.  48.  See  Eccle.  ii.  23, 
24,  25.  We  do  not  know^  what  Jesus  Christ  saw 
under  the  fig-tree,  nor  is  it  necessary  now  to  en- 
quire :  but  it  was  certainly  something  which,  Na- 
thaniel was  fully  persuaded,  no  mortal  eye  had  seen. 
As  soon,  therefore,  as  Jesus  Christ  had  uttered  these 
words,  he  believed,  and  said,  "  Rabbi,  thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  son  of  the  living  God."    My  brethren, 


The  Omnipresence  of  God,  165 

God  useth  the  same  language  to  each  of  you  to- 
day :  "  when  thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree  I  saw 
thee." 

Thou  hypocrite,  when,  wrapped  in  a  veil  of  re- 
ligion, em])ellished  with  exterior  piety,  thou  con- 
cealedst  an  impious  heart,  and  didst  endeavour  to 
impose  on  God  and  man,  I  saw  thee,  I  penetrated 
all  those  labyrinths,  I  dissipated  all  those  darknes- 
ses, I  dived  into  all  thy  deep  designs. 

Thou  worldling,  who,  with  a  prudence  truly  in- 
fernal, hast  the  art  of  giving  a  beautiful  tint  to  the 
most  odious  objects  ;  who  appearest  not  to  hate  thy 
neighbour,  because  thou  dost  not  openly  attack 
him  ;  not  to  falsify  thy  promise,  because  thou  hast 
the  art  of  eluding  it ;  not  to  oppress  thy  dependents, 
because  thou  knowest  how  to  impose  silence  on 
them  :  /  saw  thee,  w  hen  thou  gavest  those  secret 
stabs,  when  thou  didst  receive  bribes,  and  didst  ac- 
cumulate those  wages  of  unrighteousness,  which  cry 
for  vengeance  against  thee. 

Thou  slave  to  sensuality,  ashamed  of  thine  exces- 
ses before  the  face.of  the  sun,  I  saw  thee,  when,  with 
bars  and  bolts,  with  obscurity  and  darkness,  and 
complicated  precautions,  thou  didst  hide  thyself 
from  the  eyes  of  men,  "  defile  the  temple  of  God, 
and  make  the  members  of  Christ  the  members  of  a 
harlot,"  1  Cor.  vi.  15. 

My  brethren,  the  discourses,  Avhich  we  usually 
preach  to  you,  absorb  your  minds  in  a  multitude  of 
ideas.  A  collection  of  moral  ideas  perhaps  confound 
instead  of  instructing  you,  and  when  we  attempt  to 
engage  you  in  too  many  reflections,  ye  enter  really 
into  none.    Behold  an  epitome  of  religion.    Behold 


16&  The  Omnipresence  of  God. 

a  morality  in  three  words.  Return  to  your  houses, 
and  every  where  carry  this  reflection  with  you,  God 
seeth  me,  God  seeth  me.  To  all  the  wiles  of  the  dev- 
il, to  all  the  snares  of  the  world,  to  all  the  baits  of 
cupidity,  oppose  this  reflection,  God  seeth  me.  If, 
clothed  with  a  human  form,  he  were  always  in  your 
path,  were  he  to  follow  you  to  every  place,  were 
he  always  before  you  with  his  majestic  face,  with 
eyes  flashing  with  lightning,  with  looks  inspiring 
terror,  dare  ye  before  his  august  presence  give  a 
loose  to  your  passions  ?  But  ye  have  been  hearing 
that  his  majestic  face  is  every  where,  those  spark- 
ling eyes  do  inspect  you  in  every  place,  those  ter- 
rible looks  do  consider  you  every  where.  Particu- 
larly, in  the  ensuing  week,  while  ye  are  preparing 
for  the  Lord's  supper,  recollect  this.  Let  each  ex- 
amine his  own  heart,  and  endeavour  to  search  into 
his  conscience,  where  he  may  discover  so  much 
weakness,  so  much  corruption,  so  much  hardness, 
so  many  unclean  sources  overflowing  with  so  many 
excesses,  and  let  this  idea  strike  each  of  you,  God 
seeth  me,  God  seeth  me,  as  I  see  myself,  unclean, 
ungrateful,  and  rebellious.  O  may  this  idea  pro- 
duce contrition  and  sorrow,  a  just  remorse  and  a 
sound  conversion,  a  holy  and  a  fervent  communion, 
crowned  with  graces  and  virtues.  Happy,  if,  after 
our  examination,  we  have  a  new  heart!  a  heaii, 
agreeable  to  those  eyes  that  search  and  try  it !  Hap- 
py, if,  after  our  communion,  after  a  new  examina- 
tion, we  can  say  with  the  prophet,  "  O  Lord,  thou 
hast  proved  mine  heart,  thou  hast  tried  me,  and 
hast  found  nothing,"  Ps.  xvii.  3.  So  be  it.  To 
God  be  honour  and  glory  for  ever.    Amen. 


SERMON  IV. 

The  Grandeur  of  God, 

*SS.®<— s.^ 

Isaiah  xl.  12 — 28. 

Who  hath  measured  the  rvaters  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand  1  a)\d  meted  out  heaven  with  a  span,  and  com- 
prehended the  dust  of  the  earth  in  a  measure,  and 
weighed  the  mountains  in  scales,  and  the  hills  in  a 
balance  ?  Who  hath  directed  the  spirit  of  the  Lordj 
or  being  his  counsellor  hath  taught  him  1  With 
whom  took  he  counsel,  and  who  instructed  him,  and 
taught  him  in  the  path  of  judgment,  and  taught 
him  knowledge,  and  shewed  to  him  the  way  of  un- 
derstanding ?  Behold,  the  nations  are  as  a  drop 
of  a  bucket,  and  are  counted  as  the  small  dust  of 
the  balance :  behold,  he  takcth  up  the  isles  as  a  ve- 
ry little  thing.  And  Lebanon  is  not  sufficient  to 
burn,  nor  the  beasts  thereof  sufficient  for  a  burnt- 
offering.  All  nations  before  him  are  as  nothing, 
and  they  are  counted  to  him  less  than  nothing,  and 
vanity.  To  whom,  then  will  ye  liken  God?  or 
what  likeness  will  ye  compare  unto  him  ?  the  work- 
man melteth  a  graven  image,  and  the  goldsmith 
spreadeth  it  over  with  gold,  and  casteth  silver 
chains.  He  that  is  so  impoverished  that  he  hath 
no  oblation,  chooseth  a  tree  that  will  not  rot;  he 
sceketh  unto  him  a  cunning  workman  to  prepare  a 


16S  2Vie  Grandeur  of  God. 

graven  image  that  shall  not  he  moved.  Have  ye 
not  known  ?  have  ye  not  heard  ?  Hath  it  not  been 
told  you  from  the  beginning  ?  Have  ye  not  under- 
stood from  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?  It  is  he 
that  sitteth  upon  the  circle  of  the  earth,  and  the  in- 
habitants thereof  are  as  grasshoppers  ;  that  stretch- 
eth  out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain,  and  spreadeth 
them  out  as  a  tent  to  dwell  in :  that  bringeth  the 
princes  to  nothing ;  he  maketh  the  judges  of  the 
earth  as  vanity.  Yea,  they  shall  not  be  planted^ 
yea,  they  shall  not  be  sown,  yea,  their  stock  shall 
not  take  root  in  the  earth  :  and  he  shall  also  blow 
upon  them,  and  they  shall  wither,  and  the  whirl- 
wind shall  take  them  away  as  stubble.  To  whom 
then  will  ye  liken  me,  or  shall  I  be  equal  ?  saith 
the  Holy  One.  Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high,  and 
behold  who  hath  created  these  things,  that  bring- 
eth out  their  host  by  number :  he  calleth  them  all 
by  names,  by  the  greatness  of  his  might,  for  that 
he  is  strong  in  porver,  not  one  faileth.  Why  say- 
€st  thou,  O  Jacob,  and  speakest,  O  Israel;  3Iy 
way  is  hid  from  the  Lord,  and  my  judgment  is 
passed  over  from  my  God  ?  hast  thou  not  known  ? 
hast  thou  not  heard  that  the  Lord  is  the  everlast- 
ing God? 

The  words,  the  lofty  words  of  the  text,  require 
two  sorts  of  observations :  The  first  are  necessary 
to  explain  and  confirm  the  prophet's  notions  of 
God ;  the  second  to  determine  and  to  enforce  his 
design  in  describing  the  Deity  with  so  much 
pomp. 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  169 

The  prophet's  notions  of  God  are  diffused  through 
all  the  verses  of  the  text.  "  Who  hath  measured 
the  waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  meied  out 
heaven  with  a  span,  and  comprehended  the  dust  of 
the  earth  in  a  measure  ?  Who  hath  weighed  the 
mountains  in  scales,  and  the  hills  in  a  balance  ?  Be- 
hold the  nations  are  as  the  drop  of  a  bucket.  Behold 
he  taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  very  little  thing.  It  is  he 
that  sitteth  upon  the  circle  of  the  earth,  and  the  in- 
habitants thereof  are  as  grasshoppers." 

The  prophet's  design  in  describing  the  Deity 
with  so  much  magnificence  is  to  discountenance 
idolatry,  of  which  there  are  two  sorts.  The  first, 
I  call  religious  idolatry,  which  consists  in  rendering 
that  religious  worship  to  a  creature,  which  is  due 
to  none  but  God.  The  second,  I  call  moral  idola- 
try, which  consists  in  distrusting  the  promises  of 
God  in  dangerous  crises,  and  in  expecting  that  assist- 
ance from  men  which  cannot  be  expected  from  God. 
In  order  to  discountenance  idolatry  in  religion,  the 
prophet  contents  himself  with  describing  it.  "  The 
workman  melteth  a  graven  image,  the  goldsmith 
spreadeth  it  over  with  gold." 

For  the  purpose  of  discrediting  idolatry  in  mor- 
als, he  opposeth  the  grandeur  of  God  to  the  most 
grand  objects  among  men,  I  mean  earthly  kings. 
"  God,  saiih  the  prophet,  bringeth  the  princes  to  no- 
thing, he  shall  blow  upon  them,  and  the  whirlwind 
shall  take  them  away  as  stubble.  Why  sayest  thou, 
O  Jacob,  and  speakest,  O  Israel ;  My  way  is  hid 
from  the  Lord,  and  my  judgment  is  passed  over 
from  my  God  ?"  and  so  on. 

VOL.  I.  22 


170  The  Grandeur  of  God. 

This  subject  may  seem  perhaps  too  copious  for 
one  discourse,  however,  it  will  not  exceed  the  lim- 
its of  this ;  and  we  will  venture  to  detain  you  a  mo- 
ment, before  we  attend  to  the  matter,  in  remarking 
the  manner,  that  is,  the  style  of  our  prophet,  and 
the  expressive  sublimity  of  our  text.  It  is  a  com- 
position, which  not  only  surpasses  the  finest  pas^ 
sages  of  the  most  celebrated  profane  authors,  but 
perhaps  exceeds  the  loftiest  parts  of  the  holy  scrip- 
tures. 

"  Who  hath  measured  the  waters  in  the  hollow 
of  his  hand  ?  Who  hath  meted  out  heaven  with  a 
span  ?  Who  hath  comprehended  the  dust  of  the 
earth  in  a  measure  ?  Who  hath  w^eighed  the  moun- 
tains in  scales,  and  the  hills  in  a  balance  ?  All  na- 
tions before  him  are  as  the  drop  of  a  bucket.  He 
taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  very  little  thing.  He  sit- 
teth  upon  the  circle  of  the  earth,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants thereof  are  as  grasshoppers."  What  loftiness 
of  expression  !  The  deference  that  we  pay  to  the 
sacred  writers  is  not  founded  on  the  beauty  of  their 
diction.  They  do  not  affect  to  come  to  us  with  the 
enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom^  1  Cor.  ii.  4.  We 
cannot  help  observing,  however,  in  some  of  their 
writings,  the  most  perfect  models  of  eloquence. 
God  seems  to  have  dispensed  talents  of  this  kind, 
in  the  same  manner  as  he  hath  sometimes  bestowed 
temporal  blessings  of  another  kind.  Riches  and 
grandeurs  are  too  mean,  and  too  unsatisfying,  to 
constitute  the  felicity  of  a  creature  formed  in  the 
image  of  God.  Immortal  men,  who  are  called  to 
participate  felicity  and  glory  with  their  God,  are 


The  Grandeur  of  God,  171 

indifTerent  to  the  part  which  they  act,  during  their 
short  existence  on  the  stage  of  time.  To  them  it  is 
a  matter  of  very  little  importance,  whether  they  oc- 
cupy the  highest  or  the  lowest,  the  most  conspicu- 
ous or  the  most  obscure  posts  in  society.  It  signi- 
fies but  little  to  them,  whether  they  ride  in  sumptu- 
ous equipages,  or  walk  a-foot.  To  them  it  is  a 
matter  of  very  little  consequence,  whether  superb 
processions  attend  their  funerals,  or  their  carcases 
be  laid  in  their  graves  without  pomp  or  parade. 
Yet,  when  it  pleaseth  God  to  signalize  any  by  gifts 
of  this  kind,  he  doth  it  like  a  God,  if  ye  will  allow 
the  expression,  he  doth  it  so  as  to  shew  that  his 
mighty  hands  hold  all  that  can  contribute  to  enno- 
ble, and  to  elevate  mankind.  Observe  his  munifi- 
cence to  Solomon.  "  I  have  given  thee  riches  and 
glory,  said  the  Lord  to  him,  so  that  there  shall  not 
be  any  among  the  kings  like  unto  thee,  neither  af- 
ter thee  shall  any  arise  like  unto  thee,"  1  Kings  iii. 
12,  13.  In  virtue  of  this  promise,  God  loaded  Sol- 
omon with  temporal  blessings  :  he  gave  him  all.  In 
virtue  of  this  promise,  silver  was  no  more  esteemed 
than  stones  in  Jerusalem,  (the  capital  of  this  favour- 
ite of  heaven)  nor  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  than  the 
sycamore  trees  of  the  plain,  2  Chron.  ix.  27. 

God  hath  observed  the  same  conduct  to  the  her- 
alds of  religion,  in  regard  to  the  talents  that  form 
an  orator.  The  truths  which  they  teach  are  too  se- 
rious, and  too  interesting,  to  need  the  help  of  or- 
naments. The  treasures  of  religion,  Avhich  God 
committed  to  them,  are  so  valuable,  that  it  is  need- 
less for  us  to  examine  whetlier  they  be  presented  to 


173  The  Grandeur  of  God. 

us  in  earthen  vessels,  2  Gor.  iv.  7.  But  when  the 
Holy  Spirit  deigns  to  distinguish  any  one  of  his 
servants  by  gifts  of  this  kind,  my  God !  witli  what 
a  rich  profusion  hath  he  the  power  of  doing  it !  He 
fires  the  orator's  imagination  with  a  flame  altogether 
divine :  he  elevates  his  ideas  to  the  least  accessible 
region  of  the  universe,  and  dictates  language  above 
mortal  mouths. 

What  kind  of  elocution  can  ye  allege,  of  which 
the  sacred  authors  have  not  given  us  the  most  per- 
fect models  ? 

Is  it  the  style  proper  for  history  ?  A  historian 
must  assume,  it  should  seem,  as  many  different 
forms  of  speaking,  as  there  are  different  events  in 
the  subjects  of  his  narration.  And  who  ever  gave 
such  beautiful  models  of  this  style  as  Moses  ?  Wit- 
ness these  words,  which  have  acquired  him  the  elo- 
gium  of  a  pagan  critic  ^ :  "  God  said,  let  there  be 
light,  and  there  was  light,"  Gen.  i.  3.  Witness  these^ 
"  Isaac  said.  My  father  ;  Abraham  answered,  Here 
am  I  my  son.  And  he  said,  Behold  the  fire  and  the 
wood ;  but  where  is  the  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering  ? 
And  Abraham  said.  My  son,  God  will  provide  him- 
self a  lamb  for  a  burnt-offering,"  ch.  xxii.  7,  8.  Wit- 
ness  these  words,  "  Then  Joseph  could  not  refrain 
himself  before  all  them  that  stood  by  him,  and  he 
cried.  Cause  every  man  to  go  out  from  me :  and 
there  stood  no  man  with  him,  while  Joseph  made 
himself  known  unto  his  brethren.  And  he  lifted 
up  his  voice  and  wept,  and  said  unto  his  brethren, 

*  Longinus,  sect.  ix. 


The  Grandeur  of  God,  173 

I  am  Joseph :  doth  my  father  yet  live  ?  Come  near 
to  me,  I  pray  you,  I  am  Joseph  your  brother, 
whom  ye  sold  into  Egypt,"  ch.  xlv.  1. 

Is  it  the  tender  style  ?  Who  ever  gave  such  beau- 
tiful models  as  the  prophet  Jeremiah  ?  Witness  the 
pathetic  descriptions,  and  the  aifecting  complaints 
in  the  Lamentations :  "The  ways  of  Zion  mourn, 
because  none  come  to  the  solemn  feasts:  All  her 
gates  are  desolate:  her  priests  sigh  :  her  virgins  arc 
afiiicted  :  and  she  is  in  bitterness.  Is  it  nothing  to 
you  all  ye  that  pass  by  ?  behold  and  see,  if  there 
be  any  sorrow  like  unto  my  sorrow.  For  these 
things  I  weep,  mine  eye,  mine  eye  runneth  down," 
ch.  i.  4,  12, 16. 

Is  it  a  style  proper  to  terrify  and  confound  ?  Wlio 
ever  gave  more  beautiful  models  of  this  style  than 
Ezekiel  ?  Witness,  among  many  others,  these  ex- 
pressions: "Bow  weak  is  thine  heart,  saith  the 
Lord  God,  seeing  thou  dost  all  these  things :  the 
work  of  an  imperious  whorish  woman  ?  A  wife  that 
committeth  adultery,  which  taketh  strangers  in- 
stead of  her  husband  !  They  give  gifts  to  all  whores : 
but  thou  givest  thy  gifts  to  all  lovers,  and  hirest 
them,  that  they  may  come  unto  thee  on  every  side 
for  thy  whoredom,"  ch.  xvi.  30,  32,  33. 

Above  all,  is  it  the  lofty,  noble,  and  sublime 
style  ?  W^hose  models  are  comparable  to  the  prophet 
Isaiah's  ?  Christian  preacher,  thou  who  studiest  to 
convince,  to  persuade,  to  carry  away  the  hearts  of 
the  people  to  whom  God  hath  sent  thee,  neither 
make  Cicero  nor  Demosthenes  thy  models :  inves- 
tigate the  ideas,  and  appropriate  tlie  language  of 


174  The  Grandeur  of  God, 

the  inspired  writers. — Heat  thine  imagination  at  the 
fire  which  inflamed  them,  and  with  them,  endeavor 
to  elevate  the  mind  to  the  mansions  of  God,  to  the 
light  which  no  man  can  approach  unto,  1  Tim.  vi.  16. 
Learn  of  these  great  masters  to  handle  the  sword  of 
the  spirit,  and  to  manage  the  word  of  God  quick  and 
power  fid,  even  to  the  dividing  asunder  of  soul  and 
spirit,  and  of  the  joints  and  marrow,  Heb.  iv.  12. 

But  when  I  propose  my  text  as  a  pattern  of  elo- 
cution, far  from  your  minds  be  the  idea  of  a  trifling 
orator's  fraudful  art,  whose  ambition  it  is  to  exceed 
iiis  subject,  and  to  lend  his  hero  the  virtues  that  he 
wants.  The  portrait  drawn  by  the  prophet  is  infi- 
nitely inferior  to  his  original.  Ye  will  be  fully 
convinced  of  this,  if  ye  attend  to  the  four  follow- 
ing considerations  of  the  grandeurs  of  God. 

1.  The  sublimity  of  his  essence.  2.  The  in> 
mensity  of  his  works.  3.  The  efficiency  of  his 
will.  4.  The  magnificence  of  some  of  his  migh- 
ty acts,  at  certain  periods,  in  favour  of  his  church. 

First.  The  sublimiti/  of  his  essence.  The  pro- 
phet's mind  was  filled  with  this  object.  It  is  owing 
to  this  that  he  repeats  the  grand  title  of  Jehovah, 
The  Lord,  which  signifies  1  am  by  excellence,  and 
wliich  distinguisheth,  by  four  grand  characters,  the 
essence  of  God,  from  the  essence  of  creatures. 

1.  The  essence  of  God  is  independent  in  its  cause. 
God  is  a  self-existent  Being.  We  exist,  but  ours  is 
only  a  borrowed  existence,  for  existence  is  foreign 
from  us.  There  was  a  time  when  we  were  not,  and 
our  origin  is  nothing  :  and  as  we  should  cease  to  be 
if  God  were  only  to  give  the  word,  so  his  word  was^ 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  175 

necessary  to  give  us  existence  at  first.  But  God 
exists  of  himself:  Existence  is  his  own:  and  he 
owes  it  only  to  himself,  and  to  the  eminence  of  his 
own  perfections.  An  idea,  in  which  it  is  difficult 
not  to  lose  one's  self,  and  which  is  incomprehensi- 
ble to  us,  l>ecause  it  relates  to  an  infinite  attribute, 
and  because  all  that  is  infinite  absorbs  a  finite  mind: 
but  an  idea,  however,  as  true  as  it  is  incomprehensi- 
ble. The  existence  of  a  mite,  or  of  a  grain  of  dust, 
or  even  of  the  most  diminutive  being  in  nature,  is 
sufficient  necessarily  to  conduct  us  to  the  indepen- 
dent, self-existent  God. 

Even  the  atheist  is  obliged  by  his  ow  n  principles 
to  agree  with  us  in  this  article  :  I  mean  the  atheist 
of  some  knowledge  :  the  modern  atheist.  Let  us 
thankfully  own,  my  brethren,  that  the  improvements 
which  a  sound  philosophy  hath  produced  in  the  sci- 
ences, have  been  communicated  even  to  atheism. 
Formerly,  atheists  could  digest  such  propositions  as 
these :  the  world  hath  not  always  subsisted ;  it  was 
made  of  nothing.  Now  these  propositions  are  too 
gross  for  any  to  hazard  his  reputation  on  the  advan- 
cing of  them.  Indeed  to  affirm,  that  nothing  hath 
made  the  world,  is  not  only  to  advance  an  absurdi- 
ty, it  is  to  advance  a  contradiction.  To  say  that 
nothing  hath  created  the  world,  is  to  say  that  no- 
thing hath  not  created  the  world,  and  to  say  that 
nothing  hath  not  created  a  \vorld  which  actually  ex- 
ists, is  to  deny  the  existence  of  tlie  world.  No  rules 
of  reasoning  require  us  to  answer  people,  who  con- 
tradict themselves  in  so  glaring  a  manner :  and  on 
this  article,  we  rank  them  with  idiots.    Modern 


1 76  The  Grandeur  of  God, 

atheists  admit,  as  we  do,  a  self-existent  being.  All 
the  difference  between  them  and  us  is  this ;  they  at- 
tribute this  eminent  perfection  to  matter :  but  we  at- 
tribute it  to  God.  The  atheist  derives  his  existence 
from  a  collection  of  atoms,  which  a  blind  chance 
had  assembled  :  we  ascribe  our  existence  to  a  Being 
possessed  of  all  possible  perfections.  The  atheist 
discovers  his  God  and  Creator  in  a  confused  con- 
junction of  bodies  destitute  of  reason :  w^e  find  our 
God  and  Creator  in  the  Supreme  Being,  the  foun- 
tain of  all  existence.  But  both  we  and  the  atheist 
are  obliged  to  own  an  uncreated,  self-existent  Being. 
And  as  it  is  easy  for  a  reasonable  person  to  decide 
the  question,  w^hether  this  perfection  agree  to  God 
or  to  matter,  it  is  easy  for  him  also  to  comprehend 
that  God  is  a  self-existent  Being. 

2.  The  Essence  of  God  is  universal  in  its  extent 
God  possesseth  the  reality  of  every  thing  that  ex- 
ists. A  celebrated  infidel,  educated  in  your  provin- 
ces, ^  (would  to  God  none  were  educated  here  still!) 
This  infidel,  I  say,  invented  a  new  way  of  publish- 
ing atheism,  by  disguising  it.  I  am  mistaking  in 
saying  neiv :  for  it  would  be  easy  to  prove,  that  the 
miserable  Spinoza  had  not  the  glory  of  inventing  it ; 
he  only  revived  a  pagan  notion,  f  He  says,  that 
there  is  a  God,  but  that  this  God  is  only  the  univer- 
sality and  assemblage  of  creatures :  that  every  being 
is  a  modification  of  God ;  that  the  sun  is  God,  as 

*  Benedict  cle  Spinoza  was  born  at  Amsterdam,  and  was  educa- 
ted in  the  same  city  mider  Francis  Vander  Ende.  Him  Mens. 
Saurin  mieans. 

t  See  Dr.  Clarke  on  the  Attributes.    Vol.  L  prop.  3. 


The  Grandeur  of  God,  111 

giving  li^^ht,  that  aliments  are  God,  as  affording 
nourishment ;  and  so  of  the  rest.  What  a  system  ! 
What  an  abominable  system!  But  this  syslem,  all 
abominable  as  it  is,  hath,  however,  some  truth,  or 
some  foundation.  God  is  not  diffused  through  all 
these  different  beings :  God  is  not  divided :  but  he 
possesseth  all  the  perfections  of  the  universe,  and  it 
is  by  this  notion  of  God,  that  the  true  religi  n  is  dis- 
tinguished from  superstition.  The  superstitious, 
struck  with  the  beauty  of  some  particular  being, 
made  that  being  the  object  of  theh*  adoration.  One, 
struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  stars,  said,  that  the 
stars  were  Gods.  Another,  astonished  at  the  splen- 
dor of  the  sun,  said  that  the  sun  was  God.  Demo- 
critus,  surprized  at  the  beauty  of  fire,  said,  that  God 
was  a  material  fire.  Chrysippus,  amazed  at  the 
beauty  of  that  necessity,  which  causeth  every 
thing  to  answer  its  destination,  said,  that  God  was 
fate.  Parmenides,  affected  Avith  the  beautiful  ex- 
tent of  heaven  and  earth,  said,  that  God  was  that 
extent. 

But  God  is  all  this,  because  he  eminently  posses- 
seth all  this.  An  ancient  heathen  said  of  CamilJus, 
that  li^  was  the  whole  Roman  republic  to  him:  and 
Toxaris,.  when  he  had  procured  /Vnacharsis  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Solon,  said  to  him  :  "  This  is  Athens, 
this  is  Greece  ;  thou  art  no  longer  a  stranger,  thou 
hast  seen  the  whole."  Let  us  sanctify  this  tliought 
by  applying  it  to  God.  God  is  all  the  Roman  re- 
public, all  Greece,  the  whole  world  and  all  its  in- 
habitants. Yes,  he  is  the  beauty  of  the  stars,  the 
briglitness  of  the  sun,  the  purity  of  fire,  the  subtil- 

TOL.  I.  23 


ryg  The  Grandeur  of  God', 

ty  of  ethereal  matter,  the  expanse  of  heaven  and: 
tl]e  law  of  fate ;  he  is  the  sagacity  of  the  poiitican^ 
the  penetration  of  the  philosopher,  the  bravery  of 
the  soldier,  the  undaunted  courage,  and  the  cau- 
tious coolness  of  the  general.  If,  among  these 
qualities,  there  be  any  incompatible  with  the  purity 
of  his  essence,  and  therefore  inapplicable  to  him, 
yet  in  this  sense  they  belong  to  him,  all  are  subject 
to  his  empire,  and  act  only  by  his  will.  He  is,  as 
an  ancient  waiter  expresseth  it,  a  boundless  ocean 
of  existence.  From  this  ocean  of  existence  all  cre- 
ated beings,  like  so  many  rivulets,  flow.  From  this 
ocean  of  light  proceeded  the  sun  with  its  bright- 
ness, the  stars  with  their  glitter,  along  with  all  the 
brillianciesof  other  beings  that  approach  their  nature. 
From  this  ocean  of  v^isdom  came  those  profound 
politicians,  who  penetrate  the  deepest  recesses  of 
the  human  heart;  hence  those  sublime  philosophers,^ 
who  explore  the  heavens  by  the  marvels  of  diop- 
trics, and  descend  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  by 
their  knowledge  of  nature  ;  and  hence  all  those 
superior  geniusses,  who  cultivate  the  sciences,  and 
the  liberal  arts,  and  who  constitute  the  beauty  of 
the  intelligent  world.  "  In  him  we  live,  and  move, 
and  have  our  being,"  Acts  xvii.  28.  We  breathe 
his  air,  and  we  are  animated  by  his  spirit ;  it  is  his 
power  that  upholds,  his  knowledge  that  informs,  and 
his  wisdom  that  conducts  us. 

3.  The  essence  of  God  is  michangeahle  in  its  ex- 
trcise.  Creatures  only  pass  from  nothing  to  exist- 
ence, and  from  existence  to  nothing.  Their  exist- 
ence is  rather  a  continual  variation  than  a  perma- 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  179 

nent  stale;  and  they  are  all  carried  away  with  the 
same  vicissitudes.  Hardly  are  we  children  before 
we  become  men  :  hardly  are  we  arrived  at  manhood 
before  we  become  old ;  and  as  soon  as  we  become 
old  we  die.  We  love  to-day  what  we  hated  yester- 
day, and  to-morrow  we  shall  hate  what  to-day  we 
love.  David  hath  given  us  a  just  definition  of  man. 
He  defines  him  a  phantom,  who  only  appears,  and 
who  appears  only  in  a  vain  show,  Ps.  xxxix.  6.  But 
*'  I  the  Lord  change  not :  the  same  yesterday,  to- 
day, and  for  ever,"  Mai.  iii.  6.  Heb.  xiii.  8.  He  is, 
as  it  were,  the  fixed  point,  on  w  hich  revolve  all  the 
creatures  in  the  universe,  w  ithout  the  partaking  him- 
self of  their  revolutions. 

4.  Finallv,  the  divine  Essence  is  eternal  in  its  du- 
ration  :  "  Hast  thou  not  known,  (saith  our  prophet,) 
that  he  is  the  everlasting  God,  the  Lord,  the  creator 
of  the  ends  of  the  earth  ?"  When  we  attempt  to 
measure  the  duration  of  God,  by  tracing  it  beyond 
the  first  periods  of  this  universe,  we  lose  ourselves 
in  the  unfathomable  depths  of  eternity :  we  heap 
ages  upon  ages,  millions  of  years  upon  millions  of 
years  ;  but  no  beginning  of  his  existence  can  we 
find.  And  when  we  endeavour  to  stretch  our 
thoughts,  and  to  penetrate  the  most  remote  futuri- 
ty, again  we  heap  ages  upon  ages,  millions  of  years 
upon  millions  of  years,  and  lose  ourselves  again  in 
the  same  abyss,  perceiving,  that  he  can  have  no  end, 
as  he  had  no  beginning.  He  is  "  the  ancient  of 
days,  the  alpha  and  omega,  the  first  and  the  last," 
Dan.  vii.  9.  "  He  is,  he  was,  he  is  to  come,"  Rev. 
i.  8.    "  Before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth, 


180  The  Grandeur  of  God. 

before  the  earth  and  the  world  were  formed,  even 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting  he  is  God,"  Ps.  xc.  2. 
And,  when  the  mountains  shall  be  dissolved,  when 
the  foundations  of  the  earth  shall  be  destroyed, 
when  all  sensible  objects  shall  be  folded  up  like  a 
vesture,  he  will  be  the  everlasting  God,  Heb.  i.  12. 
will  be,  when  they  exist  no  more,  as  he  was  before 
they  existed  at  all. 

Secondly,  Having  judged  of  the  grandeur  of 
God  by  the  sublimity  of  his  essence,  judge  of  it  by 
ihe  imjnensity  of  his  works.  The  prophet  invites  us 
to  this  meditation  in  the  words  of  my  text.  "  It  is 
lie  that  stretcheth  out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain,  and 
spreadeth  them  out  as  a  tent  to  dwell  in.  Lift  up 
your  eyes  on  high,  and  behold  who  hath  created 
these  things.  It  is  he  who  bringeth  out  their  host 
by  number,  he  calleth  them  all  by  names.  By  the 
greatness  of  his  might,  for  that  he  is  strong  in  pow- 
er, not  one  faileth."  But  who  can  pretend  to  dis- 
cuss in  a  single  article  of  one  sermon,  a  subject, 
which  whole  volumes  could  not  contain  ?  For  if 
there  be  a  subject,  in  which  simple  narration  resem- 
bles rhetorical  bombast,  it  is  undoubtedly  this. 

A  novice  is  frightened  at  hearing  what  astrono- 
mers assert ;  that  the  sun  is  a  million  times  bigger 
than  the  earth  :  that  the  naked  eye  discovers  more 
than  a  thousand  fixed  stars,  which  are  so  many  suns 
to  enlighten  unknown  systems  :  that  with  the  help 
of  glasses  we  may  discover  an  almost  infinite  num- 
ber :  that  two  thousand  have  been  reckoned  in  one 
constellation  ;  and  that,  without  exaggerating,  they 
may  be  numbered  at  more  than  two  millions :  that 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  181 

>vhat  are  called  nebulous  stars,  of  which  there  is  an 
innumerable  multitude,  that  appear  to  us  as  if  they 
were  involved  in  little  misty  clouds,  are  all  assem- 
blages of  stars. 

A  novice  is  frightened,  when  he  is  told,  that  there 
is  such  a  prodigious  distance  between  the  earth  and 
the  sun,  that  a  body,  moving  with  the  greatest  ra- 
pidity that  art  could  produce,  would  take  up  twenty- 
five  years  in  passing  from  the  one  to  the  other  :  that 
it  w  ould  take  up  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
to  pass  from  the  earth  to  the  nearest  of  the  fixed 
stars  :  and  to  the  most  distant  more  than  a  hundred 
millions  of  years. 

A  novice  is  frightened :  (do  not  accuse  me,  my 
brethren,  of  wandering  from  the  subject  of  this  dis- 
course, for  the  saints,  who  are  proposed  in  scripture 
as  patterns  to  us,  cherished  their  devotions  with  me- 
ditations of  this  kind :  at  the  sight  of  these  grand 
objects  they  exclaimed,  "  O  Lord,  when  we  consid- 
er thy  heavens,  the  work  of  thy  fingers,  the  moon 
and  the  stars  which  thou  hast  ordained ;  what  is  man 
that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  and  the  son  of  man 
that  thou  visitest  him  ?"  Psal.  viii.  3,  4.  And  my 
text  engageth  me  to  fix  your  attention  upon  these 
objects  :  lift  up  your  eyes  on  high  and  behold.)  A 
novice  is  frightened,  when  he  is  assured,  that  al- 
though the  stars,  which  form  a  constellation,  seem 
to  touch  one  another,  yet  the  distances  of  those 
that  are  nearest  together  cannot  be  ascertained,  and 
that  even  w  ords  are  wanting  to  express  the  spaces 
which  separate  those  that  are  the  greatest  distances 
from  each  other :  that  if  two  men  were  observing 


182  The  Grandeur  of  God. 

two  fixed  stars,  from  two  parts  of  the  earth,  tire 
most  distant  from  each  other,  the  lines  that  went 
from  their  eyes,  and  terminated  on  that  star,  would 
be  confounded  together  ;  that  it  would  be  the  same 
with  two  men,  were  one  of  them  upon  earth,  and 
the  other  in  the  sun,  though  the  sun  and  the  earth 
are  at  such  a  prodigious  distance  from  each  other ; 
so  inconsiderable  is  that  distance  in  comparison  of 
the  space  which  separates  both  from  the  star.  All 
this  startles  a  novice :  and  yet,  what  are  these  bo- 
dies, countless  in  their  number,  and  enormous  in 
their  size  ?  What  are  these  unmeasurable  spaces, 
Avhich  absorb  our  senses  and  imaginations  ?  What 
are  all  these  in  comparison  of  what  reason  discov- 
ers ?  Shall  we  be  puerile  enough  to  persuade  our- 
selves that  there  is  nothing  beyond  what  we  see  ? 
Have  we  not  reason  to  think,  that  there  are  spaces 
far,  far  beyond,  full  of  the  Creator's  wonders,  and 
affording  matter  of  contemplation  to  the  thousand 
ihoiisands,  to  the  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  in- 
telligences that  he  hath  made  ?  Dan.  vii.  10. 

Here  let  us  pause.  Over  all  this  universe  God 
reigns.  But  what  is  man  even  in  comparison  of  this 
earth  ?  "  Let  him  reflect  on  himself,"  (I  borrow  the 
words  of  a  modern  author)  "  let  him  consider  what 
^'  he  is  in  comparison  of  the  whole  that  exists  be- 
"  side :  let  him  regard  himself  as  confined  in  this 
"  obscure  by-corner  of  nature  :  and  from  the  ap- 
"  pearance  of  the  little  dungeon  where  he  is  lodged, 
**  that  is,  of  this  visible  woild,  let  him  learn  to  es- 
*'  timate  tl  e  world,  its  kingdoms,  and  himself  at 
"  their  real  value."     Isaiah  estimates  their  real  value 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  183 

in  llie  words  of  my  text.  Behold,  says  he,  "  all 
nations  before  him  are  as  a  drop  of  a  bucket :"  they 
are  of  no  more  value  than  the  small  dust  that  cleaves 
to  the  balance :  "  God  sittelh  upon  the  circle  of  the 
earth,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  are  as  grasshop- 
pers :'*  yea,  they  are  still  less  considerable,  "  all 
nations  before  him  are  as  nothing." 

Thirdly,  The  immensity  of  the  Creator's  works 
lead  us  to  the  efficiency  of  his  will:  and  the  idea  of 
the  real  world  conducts  us  to  that  of  the  possible 
world.  There  needs  no  train  of  propositions  to 
discover  a  connection  between  what  God  hath  done, 
and  what  he  can  do.  The  idea  of  a  creature  leads 
to  that  of  a  Creator :  for,  in  supposing  that  some 
beings  have  been  created,  we  suppose  an  author  of 
their  creation.  The  idea  of  a  creative  Being  in- 
cludes the  idea  of  a  Beino-  whose  will  is  efficient : 
for  as  soon  as  ye  suppose  a  creative  Being,  ye  sup- 
pose a  Being  whose  will  is  self-efficient.  But  a  Be- 
ing, whose  will  is  self-efficient  is  a  Being  who,  by 
a  single  act  of  his  will,  can  create  all  possible  be- 
ings :  that  is,  all,  the  existence  of  which  implies  no 
contradiction  ;  there  being  no  reason  for  limiting 
the  power  of  a  will  that  hath  been  once  efficient  of 
itself.  So  that  as  soon  as  ye  conceive  a  Being  who 
hath  once  created,  ye  conceive  a  Being  who  can 
always  create. 

Let  us  then  form  this  notion  of  God :  a  Beino: 
who,  by  a  single  act  of  his  will,  can  create  now  in 
empty  space,  as  he  hath  formerly  created.  He  can 
say,  of  light  which  doth  not  exist,  what  he  once 
said  of  that  which  doth  exist,  "  Let  there  be  light ;" 


184  The  Grandeur  of  God, 

and  there  shall  be  light,  like  that  which  actually 
is.  He  can  say,  of  luminaries  which  are  not,  what 
he  hath  said  of  luminaries  which  already  are,  "  Let 
there  be  lights  in  the  firmament  of  heaven ;"  and 
luminaries,  that  are  not,  shall  be,  as  those  that 
once  were  not  are  now,  and  will  owe  their  exist- 
ence to  that  will,  which  is  always  irresistible,  and 
always  efficient ;  or,  as  the  prophet  saith  in  the 
words  of  my  text,  to  the  greatness  of  his  might,  to 
the  strength  of  his  power. 

Lastly,  To  convince  you  of  the  grandeur  of  God 
I  am  to  remark  to  you,  "  the  magnificence  of  some 
of  his  mighty  acts,  at  certain  periods,  in  favour  of 
his  church."  The  prophet  had  two  of  these  pe- 
riods in  view.  The  first  was  the  return  of  the  Jews 
from  that  captivity  in  Babylon  Avhich  he  had  de- 
nounced :  and  the  second,  the  coming  of  the  Mes- 
siah, of  which  their  return  from  captivity  was  only 
a  shadow. 

What  wonders  did  God  work  in  the  first  of  these 
periods!  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  tyrant  of  the  Jews, 
had  obtained  universal  monarchy,  or,  as  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  expresseth  it,  he  was  become  the  hammer 
of  the  whole  earth,  Jer.  1.  23.  The  inspired  writers 
represent  the  rapidity  of  his  victories  under  the  em- 
blem of  the  swiftness  of  an  eagle.  We  can  hardly 
imagine  the  speed  Avith  which  he  overran  Ethiopia, 
Arabia,  Palestine,  Persia,  Media,  Egypt,  Idumea, 
Syria,  and  almost  all  Asia,  and  with  which  he  con- 
quered all  those  extensive  countries  as  he  marched 
through  them.  Cyrus  had  been  appointed  by  the 
fjord,  and  nominated  by  the  prophets,  to  stop  his 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  18.5 

career,  and  to  subdue  those  Babylonians  who  had 
subdued  so  many  nations.  But  who  was  this  Cy- 
rus ?  Son  of  a  father,  whose  meanness  and  obscuri- 
ty had  prevailed  with  Astyages,  king  of  Media,  to 
give  him  his  daughter  Mandana  in  marriage  ;  how 
will  he  perform  such  prodigious  enterprizes  ?  This 
is  not  all.  Astyages  was  afraid  that  Mandana's 
son  should  fulfil  a  dream,  of  which  his  diviners  had 
given  him  frightful  interpretations.  He  caused  her 
therefore  to  reside  at  court  during  her  pregnancy, 
and  commanded  Harpagus,  one  of  his  most  devoted 
courtiers,  to  put  the  child  to  death  as  soon  as  he 
should  be  born.  But  God  preserved  the  child,  and 
all  the  power  of  Astyages  could  not  make  one  hair 
fall  from  his  head  without  the  divine  permission. 
Harpagus  trembled  at  his  commission,  resigned  it 
to  the  overseer  of  the  king's  flocks,  and  ordered 
him  to  expose  Mandana's  son :  But,  when  he  was 
preparing  to  obey  him,  his  wife,  affected  w^ith  the 
beauty  of  young  Cyrus,  prevailed  with  her  husband 
to  expose  her  own  son  in  his  stead. 

Thus,  by  a  train  of  miracles,  was  this  anointed  of 
God  preserved,  and  by  a  train  of  greater  miracles 
still,  did  he  stir  up  the  Persians  against  the  Medes, 
march  at  the  head  of  them  against  the  cruel  Astya- 
ges, defeat  him,  conquer  Media,  and  at  length,  be- 
siege Babylon.  Nebuchadnezzar  had  surrounded 
that  city  with  a  triple  w  all,  and  had  replaced  the 
bricks  of  Semiramis  with  free-stone,  w  hich  contri- 
buted, says  Dion,  less  to  the  magnificence  than  to 
the  eternity  of  the  empire.  The  w^alls  were  an  hun- 
dred feet  high,  and  fifty  broad,  so  that  it  was  said 

VOL.  I.,  24 


I8a  The  Grandeur  of  God. 

of  that  great  city,  it  was  alike  incredible  how  aii 
could  form,  or  art  destroy  it.  But  what  walls,  what 
fortifications,  can  resist  the  blows  of  an  arm  sup- 
ported by  ''  the  greatness  of  the  might,  the  strength 
of  the  power"  of  the  omnipotent  God!  Every  tiling 
submits  to  the  valour  of  Cyrus :  he  takes  Babylon, 
and  before  he  hath  well  secured  his  conquest,  does 
homage  for  the  victory  to  the  God  who  had  foretold 
it;  and  releases  the  Jews  from  captivity.  These 
accounts  are  related  by  heathen  authors,  and  par- 
ticularly by  Herodotus,  and  Justin :  God  having 
determined  that  the  bitterest  enemies  of  revelation 
should  preserve  those  monuments  which  demon- 
strate the  divinity  of  our  prophecies. 

But  I  said  just  now,  that  the  return  of  the  Jews 
fi'om  their  captivity  in  Babylon  was  only  a  shadow 
of  that  deliverance,  w^hich  the  Messiah  was  to  bring 
into  the  world :  and  that  the  mighty  acts,  which 
God  wrought  in  the  first  period,  were  only  faint 
images  of  what  he  would  operate  in  the  second. 
Accordingly,  our  prophet  had  the  second  of  these 
periods  much  more  in  view  than  the  first  in  the 
words  of  my  text.  It  is  not  a  love  for  the  marvel- 
lous :  it  is  neither  a  prejudice  of  education,  nor  a 
blind  submission  to  confessions  of  faith ;  (motives 
that  produce  so  much  superstition  among  Christians:) 
these  are  not  the  reasons  of  our  comment :  it  is  the 
nature  of  the  thing  ;  it  is  the  magnificence  of  the 
prophecies  connected  with  my  text ;  it  is  the  au- 
thority of  St.  Paul,  who,  in  the  eleventh  chapter 
of  his  epistle  to  the  Romans,  ver.  34.  and  in  the  se- 
cond of  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  ver.  16. 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  187 

intei-prets  these  words  of  my  text  of  the  gospel. 
Who  hath  hioivn  the  mind  of  the  Lord  /  who  hath 
been  his  counsellor  ?  Accordingly,  in  this  second  pe- 
riod, God  hath  displayed  treasures  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge.  But  we  have  elsewhere  treated  this 
subject  at  large,  and  we  choose  rather  only  to  hint 
tliis  article  to-day  than  to  incur  the  just  reproach  of 
treating  it  imperfectly. 

Such  then  are  the  grandeurs  of  God  ;  and  all 
that  I  have  lisped  out  is  more  properly  the  title  of 
the  subject,  upon  which  I  would  ^x  your  attention, 
than  the  subject  itself  well  digested.  INevertheless, 
how  imperfect  soever  the  sketch  may  be,  it  may 
serve  to  convince  us,  that  there  is  no  extravagance 
in  the  prophet's  ideas ;  that  if  his  language  is  lofty, 
it  is  not  hyperbolical,  and  that  he  is  always  below 
the  truth,  even  when  he  uses  these  sublime  expres- 
sions, "  Who  hath  measured  the  waters  in  the  hol- 
low of  his  hand  ?  meted  the  heavens  with  a  span, 
comprehended  the  dust  of  the  earth  w  ith  a  measure, 
weighed  the  mountains  in  scales,  and  the  hills  in  a 
balance  ?"  But  why  doth  he  describe  the  Deity  with 
so  much  pomp  ?  This  remains  to  be  considered  in 
the  second  part  of  this  discourse,  which  shall  also 
be  the  application. 

II.  We  observed  in  the  beginning,  that  the  pro- 
phet's design  w^as  to  render  two  sorts  of  idolatry 
odious  :  idolatry  in  religion  ;  and  idolatry  in  morals. 

Idolatry  in  religion  consists  in  rendering  those  re- 
ligious homages  to  creatures,  which  are  due  to  the 
Creator  only.  To  discredit  this  kind  of  idolatry, 
the  prophet  contents  himself  with  describing  it.     He 


188  The  Grandeur  of  God. 

shames  the  idolater  by  reminding  him  of  the  origin 
of  idols,  and  of  the  pains  taken  to  preserve  them. 
What  is  the  origin  of  idols  ?  The  workman  meltelh 
an  image,  saith  our  prophet,  and  the  goldsmith  spread- 
eth  it  over  with  gold.  What  pains  doth  the  idolater 
take  to  preserve  his  idols  ?  He  casteth  silver  chains 
to  fasten  them,  and  to  prevent  thieves  from  stealing 
them,  or  perhaps  for  fear  they  should  escape  through 
their  own  inconstancy.  The  heathens  had  been  ac- 
customed, when  they  besieged  a  city,  to  evoke  the 
tutelary  gods;  (Macrobius  has  preserved  a  long 
form  of  these  evocations^)  and  the  besieged,  to 
prevent  the  effects  of  these  evocations,  and,  to  se- 
cure their  gods  from  going  into  their  enemies  camps, 
used  to  fasten  their  images  with  chains.  Many 
proofs  of  this  might  be  alleged,  but  one  passage  of 
Q^uintus  Curtius  shall  suffice.  He  tells  us,  that,  a 
citizen  of  Tyre  having  publicly  declared  that  he 
had  seen  in  a  dream  the  image  of  Apollo  quitting 
the  city,  the  citizens  immediately  used  the  precau- 
tion of  fastening  it  with  a  chain  of  gold.f 

*  Saturn.  III.  9.  The  following  is  the  form  of  the  incantation. 
If  you  be  a  god^  or  a  goddess,  under  whose  guardianshiji  the 
people  and  the  city  of  the  Carthaginians  is,  and  you,  particularly, 
nvho  have  taken  upon  you  the  protection  of  that  people  and  city, 
I  worship  you,  and  humbly  beg  you  would  be  pleased  to  forsake 
the  fieople  and  city  of  the  Carthaginians,  to  abandon  their  places^ 
temples,  religious  ceremonies  and  cities,  and  come  away,  Sec. 
Bayle.  Soranus  Rem.  E. 

t  L.  IV.  3.  21.  Metu  aurea  catena  devinxere  simulacrum, 
araeque  Herculis,  cujus  numini  urbem  dicaverant,  inseruere 
'vinculum,  quasi  iilo  Deo  ApoUinQm  retenturi. 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  189 

But  the  prophet  no  less  intended  to  shame  idola- 
try in  morals,  which  consists  in  distrusting  the  prom- 
ises of  God  in  extreme  dangers,  and  in  expecting 
from  men  a  succour  that  cannot  be  expected  from 
God.  A  man  is  guilty  of  moral  idolatry,  when,  in 
dangerous  crises,  he  says,  "  My  way  is  hid  from 
the  Lord  ;  my  judgment  is  passed  over  from  my 
God."  Be  not  surprized  at  my  giving  so  odious  a 
name  to  a  disposition  of  mind,  wliich  is  too  common 
even  among  those  whose  piety  is  the  least  suspect- 
ed, and  the  best  established.  The  essence  of  idol- 
atry, in  general,  is  to  disrobe  tlie  Deity  of  his  perfec- 
tions, and  to  adorn  a  creature  with  them.  There 
are  indeed  many  degrees  of  this  disposition.  He, 
who  renders  divine  honours  to  the  glimmering  light 
of  a  taper,  is  guilty  perhaps  of  a  more  gross  idola- 
try, than  he  who  worships  the  sun.  The  Egyptian, 
who  worships  a  rat,  is  perhaps  more  absurd  than 
the  Roman,  who  ranks  a  Caesar  with  the  gods. 
But,  after  all,  there  is  so  small  a  difference  between 
the  meanest  insect  and  the  greatest  emperor,  the 
glimmering  of  a  taper  and  the  glory  of  the  sun, 
when  compared  with  the  Supreme  Being,  tliat  there 
can  be  no  great  difference  between  these  two  sorts 
of  idolatry. 

Let  us  apply  this  to  our  subject.  God  is  the  sole 
arbiter  of  events.  Whenever  ye  think,  that  any 
more  pow  erful  being  directs  them  to  comfort  you, 
ye  put  the  creature  in  the  Creator's  place  ;  whether 
ye  do  it  in  a  manner  more  or  less  absurd  :  w  hether 
they  be  formidable  armies,  impregnable  fortresses, 
and  \Yell-stored  magazines,  which  ye  thus  exalt  in- 


19Q  The  Grandeur  of  God. 

to  deities ;  or  whether  it  be  a  small  circle  of  friends, 
an  easy  income,  or  a  country-house  ;  it  does  not  sig- 
nify, ye  are  alike  idoJaters. 

The  Jews  were  often  guilty  of  the  first  sort  of 
idolatry.  The  captivity  in  Babylon  was  the  last 
curb  to  that  fatal  propensity.  But  this  miserable 
people,  whose  existence  and  preservation,  whose 
prosperities  and  adversities  were  one  continued  train 
of  obvious  miracles,  immediately  from  heaven  ;  this 
miserable  people,  whose  whole  history  should  have 
prevailed  with  them  to  have  feared  God  only,  and 
to  have  confided  in  him  entirely;  this  miserable  peo- 
ple trembled  at  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  his  army,  as 
if  both  had  acted  independently  on  God.  Their 
imaginations  prostiated  before  these  second  causes, 
and  they  shuddered  at  the  sight  of  the  Chaldean 
Marmosets,  as  if  they  had  afforded  assistance  to  their 
worshippers,  and  had  occasioned  their  triumphs 
over  the  church. 

Thanks  be  to  God,  my  dear  brethren,  that  the 
light  of  the  gospel  hath  opened  the  eyes  of  a  great 
number  of  Christians,  in  regard  to  idolatry  in  reli- 
gion. I  say  a  great  number,  and  not  all :  for  how 
many  parts  of  the  Christian  world  still  deserve  the 
prophet's  reproach?  "the  workman  melteth  a  gra- 
ven image,  the  goldsmith  spreadeth  it  over  with 
gold.  Have  ye  not  known  ?  have  ye  not  heard  ?** 
Blessed  be  God,  we  are  quite  free  from  this  kind  of 
idolatry !  But  how  many  idolaters  of  the  second 
kind  do  1  see  ? 

Ye,  who,  in  order  to  avert  public  calamities,  sa- 
tisfy yourselves  with  a  few  precautions  of  worldly 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  191 

prudence,  and  oppose  provisions  to  scarcity,  medi- 
cines to  mortality,  an  active  vigilance  to  the  danger 
of  a  contagion ;  and  take  no  pains  to  extirpate  those 
horrible  crimes,  which  provoke  the  vengeance  of 
heaven  to  inflict  punishments  on  public  bodies ;  ye 
are  guilty  of  tliis  second  kind  of  idolatry,  ye  stand 
exposed  to  this  malediction,  "  Cursed  be  the  man 
that  trusteth  in  man,  and  maketh  flesh  his  arm," 
Jer.  xvii.  5.  AYere  your  confidence  placed  in  God, 
ye  would  endeavor  to  avert  national  judgments  by 
purging  the  state  of  those  scandalous  commerces, 
those  barbarous  extortions,  and  all  those  other  wick- 
ed practices,  which  are  the  surest  forerunners,  and 
the  principal  causes  of  famine,  and  pestilence,  and 
war. 

Desolate  family,  ye,  who  rested  all  your  expec^- 
tations  upon  one  single  head  ;  ye,  who  made  one 
single  person  the  axis  of  all  your  schemes  and 
hopes ;  ye,  who  lately  saw  that  person  cut  down  in 
the  midst  of  his  race,  and  carried  away  with  the  tor- 
rent of  human  vicissitudes ;  ye,  who  see  nothing 
around  you  now  but  indigence,  misery,  and  famine; 
who  cry  in  the  bitterness  of  your  grief.  No  more 
support,  no  more  protector,  no  more  father ;  ye  are 
guilty  of  this  second  kind  of  idolatry.  Ye  "  trust- 
ed in  man,  ye  made  flesh  your  arm."  Were  God 
the  object  of  your  trust,  ye  would  recollect,  amidst 
all  your  grief,  that  providence  is  not  inclosed  in 
your  patron's  tomb :  ye  would  remember,  that  an 
invisible  eye  incessantly  watches  over,  and  governs 
this  world  ;  that  God-,  "  who  feedeth  the  fowls  of 
heaven,  and  clothes  the  lillies  of  the  valley,"  (Luke 


192  The  Grandeur  of  God. 

xii.  24,  28.)  that  a  God  so  i^ood  and  compassionate, 
can  easily  provide  for  the  maintenance  and  encour- 
agement of  your  family. 

And  thou,  feeble  mortal,  lying  on  a  sick-bed, 
already  struggling  with  the  king  of  terrors,  (.Job 
xviii.  14.)  in  the  arms  of  death ;  thou,  who  trem- 
blingly complainest,  I  am  undone !  Physicians  give 
me  over  !  Friends  are  needless  !  Remedies  are  use- 
less !  Every  application  is  unsuccessful !  A  cold 
sweat  covers  my  whole  body,  and  announces  my 
approaching  death  !  Thou  art  guilty  of  this  second 
kind  of  idolatry,  thou  hast  trusted  in  man,  thou  hast 
madefiesh  thine  arm.  Were  God  the  object  of  thy 
trust,  thou  wouldest  believe  that  though  death  is 
about  to  separate  thee  from  men,  it  is  about  to  unite 
thee  to  God :  thou  wouldest  preclude  the  slavish 
fear  of  death  by  thy  fervent  desires  :  thou  wouldest 
exult  at  the  approach  of  thy  Redeemer,  Come  Lord, 
come  quickly/  Amen.  Rev.  xxii.  20.  How  easy 
would  it  be,  my  brethren,  to  enlarge  this  article  ! 

Dearly  beloved,  Jlee  from  idolatry,  (l  Cor.  x.  14.) 
is  the  exhortation  of  an  apostle,  and  with  this  ex- 
hortation we  conclude  this  discourse,  and  inforce 
the  design  of  the  prophet  in  the  text.  "  Flee  from 
idolatry,"  not  only  from  gross  idolatry,  but  from 
that  which,  though  it  may  appear  less  shocking,  is 
no  less  repugnant  to  the  spirit  of  religion.  "  Why 
gayest  thou,  O  Jacob ;  Why  speakest  thou,  O  Israel ; 
My  way  is  hid  from  the  Lord ;  My  judgment  is 
passed  over  from  my  God?"  The  guardianship  of 
you  is  that  part  of  the  dominion  of  God  of  which  he 
is  most  jealous.    His  love  for  you  is  so  exquisite. 


The  Grandeur  of  God.  193 

that  he  condescends  to  charge  himself  with  your 
happiness.  The  happiness  which  ye  feel  in  com- 
munion with  him,  is  intended  to  engage  you  to  him: 
and  the  noblest  homage  that  ye  can  return,  the  pur- 
est incense  that  ye  can  offer,  is  to  say  to  him, 
"  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ?  there  is  none 
upon  earth  I  desire  besides  thee.  It  is  good  for  me 
to  draw  near  to  God,"  Ps.  Ixxiii.  25,  28. 

If  ye  place  your  hopes  upon  creatures,  ye  depend 
upon  winds,  and  waves,  and  precarious  seasons : 
upon  the  treachery,  iniquity,  and  inconstancy  of 
men :  or,  to  say  all  in  one  word,  ye  depend  upon 
death.  That  poor  man  is  a  self-deceiver,  who,  like 
the  man  in  the  gospel,  saith  within  himself,  "  My 
soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years  : 
take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry,"  Luke 
xii.  17,  19.  But,  I  expect  to  find  him,  yes,  I  expect 
to  find  him,  at  the  sound  of  that  voice,  which  may 
this  very  night  require  his  soul,  I  expect  to  find 
him  in  a  sick  bed.  There,  all  pale,  distorted,  and 
dying,  let  him  assemble  his  gods ;  let  him  call  for 
his  treasures,  and  send  for  his  domestics,  and  ac- 
quaintances ;  in  that  fatal  bed  let  him  embrace  his 
Drusillas,  and  Dalilahs;  let  him  form  harmonious 
concerts,  amuse  himself  with  fashionable  diversions, 
or  feast  his  eyes  with  gaudy  decorations,  the  vacu- 
ity and  vanity  of  which,  in  spite  of  himself,  he 
will  be  obliged  to  discover. 

O  give  me  more  solid  foundations  for  my  hopes ! 
May  I  never  build  my  house  upon  the  sand,  endan- 
gered by  every  wind  and  wave  ;  may  the  edifice  of 
my  felicity  be  superior  to  human  vicissitudes,  and 

VOL.  I,  25 


194.  ^he  Grandeur  of  God. 

"  like  mount  Sion,  which  cannot  be  removed,"  (Ps, 
cxxv.  1 .)  may  I  build  upon  the  Rock  of  Ages,  and 
be  able,  in  public  calamities  and  in  my  private  mis- 
fortunes, above  all,  in  the  agonies  of  death,  to  ap- 
propriate those  precious  promises  which  God  hath 
made  to  his  church  in  general,  and  to  every  indi- 
vidual in  it :  "  The  mountains  shall  depart,  and  the 
hills  be  removed,  but  my  kindness  shall  not  depart 
from  thee,  neither  shall  the  covenant  of  my  peace 
be  removed,"  Isa.  liv.  10. 

To  this  God,  of  whose  grandeur  we  form  such 
elevated  notions,  and  upon  whose  promises  we 
found  such  exalted  hopes,  be  honor  and  glory  for 
ever,  and  ever.    Amen. 


SERMON  y. 

The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom,  and  the  Abundance 
of  his  Porver. 


Jeremiah  xxxii.  19. 
Great  in  counsel  and  mighty  in  work. 

X  HESE  words  are  connected  with  the  two  pre- 
ceding verses  :  "  Ah,  Lord  God,  behold,  thou  hast 
made  the  heaven  and  the  earth  by  thy  great  power 
and  stretched-out  arm,  and  there  is  nothing  too  hard 
for  thee.  Thou  shewest  lovino;  kindness  unto  thou- 
sands,  and  recompensest  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers 
into  the  bosom  of  their  children  after  them :  the 
great,  the  mighty  God,  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his 
liame,  great  in  counsel,  and  mighty  in  work." 

The  text  that  we  have  read  to  you,  my  brethren, 
and  which  though  very  short,  hath  doubtless  alrea- 
dy excited  many  grand  ideas  in  your  minds,  is  a 
homage  which  the  prophet  .Teremiah  paid  to  the 
perfections  of  God,  when  they  seemed  to  counteract 
one  another.  To  make  this  plain  to  you,  we  will 
endeavour  to  fix  your  attention  on  the  circumstan- 
ces in  which  our  prophet  was,  when  he  pronounced 
the  words.  This  is  the  best  method  of  explaining 
the  text,  and  with  this  we  begin. 

.Teremiah  was  actually  a  martyr  to  his  ministry, 


196  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom^ 

when  he  addressed  that  prayer  to  God,  of  which  this 
text  is  only  a  part.     He  was  reduced  to  the  disa- 
greeable necessity  of  not  being  able  to  avail  himself 
of  the  rights  of  religion,  without   invalidating  the 
maxims  of  civil  government.     This  is  one   of  the 
most  difficult  straits,  into  which  the  ministers  of  the 
living  God  can  be  brought ;  for,  however  they  may 
be  opposed,  people  always  regard  them,  if  not  with 
entire  submission,  yet  with  some  degree  of  respect, 
w^liile  they  confine  themselves  to  the  duties  of  their 
own  office,  and  while,  content  with  the  speaking  of 
heavenly  things,  they  leave  the  reins  of  government 
in  the  hands  of  those  to  whom  Providence  hath  com- 
mitted them.     But  when  religion  and  civil  policy 
are  so  united  that  ministers  cannot  discharge  their 
functions  without  becoming,  in  a  manner,  ministers 
of  state,  without  determining  whether  it  be  proper 
to  make  peace,  or  to  declare  war,  to  enter  into  alli- 
ances or  to  dissolve  them :  how  extremely  delicate 
and  difficult  does  their  ministry  become  ?  This  was 
our  prophet's  case.     Jerusalem  had  been  besieged 
for  the  space  of  one  year  by  Nebuchadnezzar's  ar- 
my, and  it  was  doubtful  whether  the  city  should  ca- 
pitulate with  that  prince,  or   hold  out  against  him. 
God  himself  decided  this  question,  by  the  ministry 
of  the  prophet,  and  commanded  him  in  his  name  to 
address  the  Israelites  :  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord  ;  Be- 
hold, I  will  give  this  city  into  the  hand  of  the  king 
of  Babylon,  and  he  shall  take  it.     And  Zedekiah 
king  of  Judah  shall  not  escape  out  of  the  hand  of 
the  Chaldeans;  but   shall  surely  be  delivered  into 
the  hand  of  the  king  of  Babylon    .    •    .    .  though 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power,  197 

ye  fight  with  the  Clialdeans,  ye  shall  not  prosper," 
ver.  3,  4,  5. 

A  prediction  so  alarming  was  not  uttered  with 
impunity;  and  Jeremiah  was  thrown  into  prison 
for  pronouncing  it:  but,  before  he  could  well  reflect 
on  this  trial,  lie  was  exercised  with  another  that  w  as 
more  painful  still.  God  commanded  hhn  to  trans- 
act an  atfair,'  which  seems  at  first  sight  more  likely 
to  sink  his  ministry  into  contempt,  than  to  conciliate 
people's  esteem  to  it.  He  commanded  him  to  avail 
himself  of  the  right,  which  every  Israelite  enjoyed, 
when  his  nearest  relation  offered  an  estate  to  sale  : 
a  right  founded  upon  an  institute  recorded  in  Levit- 
icus. God  required  the  Israelites  to  consider  him 
as  their  sovereign,  and  his  sovereignty  over  them 
was  absolute,"  Lev.  xxv.  They  cannot  be  said  to 
have  possessed  any  thing  as  proper  ow  ners  ;  they 
held  every  thing  conditionally,  and  in  trust ;  and 
they  had  no  other  right  in  their  patrimonial  estates 
than  what  tliey  derived  from  the  arbitrary  will  of 
God.  In  order  to  preserve  in  them  a  sense  of  this 
dependence,  they  were  forbidden  to  sell  the  lands 
which  they  inherited  from  their  ancestors  :  "  The 
land  shall  not  be  sold  for  ever,  (saith  the  Levitical 
law,J  for  the  land  is  mine,  and  ye  are  strangers  and 
sojourners  with  me,"  ver.  23.  This  was  not  known 
to  the  heathens,  for  Diodorus  of  Sicily  says,  that 
"  the  Jews  could  not  sell  their  inheritances.^ 

*  The  case  of  the  daughters  of  Zelophedad,  related  in  Numb, 
xxvii.  8.  procured  a  general  law  of  inheritance.  If  a  man  died 
without  a  son,  his  daughters  were  to  inherit :  if  without  children, 
his  brethren  were  to  inherit :  if  without  brethren,  his  uncle  was 


198  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom^ 

But  as  it  might  happen,  that  a  landholder  might 
become  indigent,  and  be  reduced  by  this  prohibi- 
tion to  the  danger  of  dying  with  hunger,  even  while 
he  had  enough  to  supply  all  his  wants,  God  had 
provided,  tliat,  in  such  a  case,  the  lands  might  be 
sold  under  certain  restrictions,  w^hich  were  proper 
to  convince  the  seller  of  that  sovereignty,  from 
which  he  would  never  depart.  The  principal  of 
those  restrictions  were  two  ;  one,  that  the  estate 
should  be  rather  mortgaged  than  sold,  and,  at  the 
jubilee,  should  return  to  its  first  master  :  and  hence 
it  is,  that,  to  sell  an  estate  for  ever,  in  the  style  of 
the  Jewish  jurisprudence,  is  to  mortgage  it  till  the 
jubilee.  The  other  restriction  was,  that  the  near- 
est relation  of  him,  w  ho  was  obliged  to  sell  his 
land,  should  have  the  right  of  purchasing  it  before 
any  others,  either  more  distant  relations  or  stran- 
gers. 

In  virtue  of  this  law,  Jeremiah  had  a  right  io 
purchase  an  estate,  which  Hanameel,  the  son  of 
Shalhun,  had  offered  to  sale.  The  land  lay  at 
Anathoth,  a  town  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  where 
our  prophet  was  born,  and  was  actually  occupied 
by  the  Chaldeans  at  that  time.  Jerusalem  was  be- 
sieged, and  Jeremiah  was  fully  persuaded,  and  even 
foretold,  that  it  would  be  taken;  that  the  Jews 
would  be  carried  away  into  captivity  ;  and  would 
not  be  re-established  in  their  own  country  till  their 

to  inherit :  if  without  uncle  his  nearest  relation  was  his  heir. 
Grotius  says  that  this  law,  which  preferred  an  uncle  before  a 
nephew,  passed  from  tlie  Jews  to  the  Phenicians,  and  from  the 
Phenicians  into  all  Africa.     Saurin.  Dissert.  Tom,  II.  Disc.  vii. 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Porter,  199 

return  from  Babylon  at  the  expiration  of  seventy 
years.  What  a  time  to  purchase  an  estate !  What 
a  season  to  improve  a  right  of  redemption ! 

But  this  command  of  God  to  the  prophet  was  full 
of  meaning  ;  God  gave  it  with  views  similar  to,  but 
incomparably  surer  than  those  which  the  Romans 
had,  when  they  publicly  offered  to  sell  the  land 
where  Hannibal  was  encamped  wlien  he  was  besieg- 
ing the  city  of  Rome.  What  the  prophet  was  com- 
manded to  do,  was  designed  to  be  an  image  of  what 
the  Jews  should  have  the  liberty  of  doing  after  their 
re-establishment.  Ye  may  ascertain  that  this  was 
the  design  of  the  command  given  to  Jeremiah,  if  ye 
attend  to  the  words  which  he  addressed  to  God  him- 
self, in  the  twenty-fourth  verse  of  this  chapter : 
*' Behold  the  mounts,  the  city  is  given  into  the  hands 
of  the  Chaldeans :  and  thou  hast  said  unto  me,  O 
Ijord  God,  Buy  thee  the  field  for  money,"  ver.  25, 
27.  To  this  the  Lord  answers,  "  Behold,  I  am  the 
Lord,  the  God  of  all  flesh,  is  there  any  thing  too 
bard  for  me  ?  Like  as  I  have  brought  all  this  great 
evil  upon  this  people,  so  will  I  bring  upon  them  all 
the  good  that  I  have  promised  them.  And  fields 
shall  be  bought  in  this  land,  whereof  ye  say,  It  is 
desolate  without  man  or  beast,  it  is  given  into  the 
hand  of  the  Chaldeans.  Men  shall  buy  fields  for 
money,   and  subscribe  evidences,"  ver.  42,  43,  44. 

Jeremiah  entered  into  these  views,  obeyed  the 
command,  and  believed  the  promise :  but,  to  forti- 
fy himself  against  such  doubts  as  the  distance  of  its 
accomplishment  might  perhaps  produce  in  his  mind, 
he  recollected  the  eminent  perfections^  and  the  mag- 


200  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom, 

nificent  works  of  him  from  whom  the  promise  came* 
"Now  when  I  had  delivered  the  evidence  of  the 
purchase  unto  Baruch,  (says  the  prophet,)  I  prayed 
unto  the  Lord,  saying,  Ah !  Lord  God,  behold  thou 
iiast  made  the  heaven  and  the  earth  by  thy  great 
power  and  stretched-out  arm,  and   there  is  nothing 

loo  hard  for  thee Thou  art  the  great, 

the  mighty  God,  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  thy  name, 
great  in  counsel  and  mighty  in  work." 

The  considering  of  the  circumstances  that  attend- 
ed the  text  is  a  sufficient  determination  of  its  end 
and  design.  The  prophet's  meaning,  which  is  quite 
clear,  is,  that  the  wisdom  of  God  perfectly  compre- 
iiended  all  that  would  be  necessary  to  re-establish 
the  .Jewish  exiles  in  their  own  land ;  and  that  his 
power  could  effect  it.  The  words  are,  however  ca- 
pable of  a  nobler  and  more  extensive  meaning,  and 
in  this  larger  view  we  intend  to  consider  them.  God 
is  great  in  counsel,  either,  as  the  words  may  be  trans- 
lated, "  great  in  designing,  and  mighty  in  execu- 
ting:" or,  as  the  same  phrase  is  rendered  in  Isaiah, 
"  wonderful  in  counsel,  and  excellent  in  working," 
xxviii.  29.  We  will  endeavour  to  give  you  a  just 
notion  of  this  sublime  subject  in  two  different  views. 

I.  We  will  consider  the  subject  speculatively. 

IL  We  will  consider  it  in  a  practical  light. 

We  intend  by  considering  the  subject  specula- 
tively, to  evince  the  truth  of  the  subject,  the  de- 
monstration of  which  is  very  important  to  us.  By 
considering  it  practically,  we  intend  to  convince 
you,  on  the  one  hand^  of  the  monstrous  extrava- 
gance of  those  men,  thgse  little  rays  of  intelligence^ 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power,  201 

Avho,  according  to  the  wise  man,  pretend  to  set 
their  "  wisdom  and  counsel  against  tlie  Lord,"  Prov. 
xxi.  30.  and  on  the  other,  of  the  wisdom  of  those, 
who,  while  they  regulate  their  conduct  by  his  laws 
alone,  commit  their  peace,  tlieir  life,  and  their  sal- 
vation to  the  care  of  his  providence.  This  is  what 
I  propose  to  lay  before  you. 

I.  "  O  Lord,  thou  art  great  in  counsel,  and  migh- 
ty in  work."  Let  us  consider  this  proposition 
speculatively.  I  shall  establish  it  on  two  kinds  of 
proofs.  The  first  shall  be  taken  from  the  nature  of 
God :  the  second  from  the  history  of  the  world,  or 
rather  from  the  history  of  the  church. 

L  My  first  proofs  shall  be  taken  from  the  nature 
of  God;  not  that  it  belongs  to  a  preacher  to  go  very 
deeply  into  so  profound  a  subject,  nor  to  his  audi- 
tors to  follow  all  the  reflections  that  he  could  make  : 
yet  we  wish,  when  we  speak  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
that  we  might  not  be  alw  ays  obliged  to  speak  super- 
ficially, under  pretence  that  we  always  speak  to 
plain  people.  We  wish  ye  had  sometimes  the 
laudable  ambition,  -especially  when  ye  assist  in  this 
sacred  place,  of  elevating  your  minds  to  those  sub- 
lime objects,  of  the  meditation  of  which,  the  occu- 
pations, to  which  your  frailties  and  miseries,  or, 
shall  I  rather  say,  your  vitiated  tastes  enslave  you, 
ye  are  deprived  in  the  ordinary  course  of  your 
lives. 

The  nature  of  God  proves  that  he  is  great  in  coun- 
sel. Consider  the  perfect  knowledge  that  he  hath 
of  all  possible  beings,  as  well  as  of  all  the  beings 
which  do  actually  exist.     \^  e  are  not  only  incajia- 

voL.  I,  20 


202  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom^ 

ble  of  thoroughly  understanding  the  knowledge 
that  he  h'lth  of  possible  beings  ;  but  we  are  even  in- 
capable of  forming  any  idea  of  it.  I  am  not  sure  that 
the  reduction  of  all  the  objects  of  our  knowledge 
to  two  ideas  is  founded  in  reason^  T  do  not  know 
whether  we  be  not  guilty  of  some  degree  of  temer- 
ity in  comprising  all  real  existences  in  two  classes : 
a  class  of  bodies,  and  a  class  of  spirits.  I  leave 
this  question  to  philosophers  ;  but  I  maintain,  that 
it  argues  the  highest  presumption  to  affirm,  even  al- 
lowing that  every  being  within  our  knowledge  is 
either  body  or  spirit,  that  every  thing  must  be  re- 
ducible to  one  of  these  classes,  that  not  only  all 
real  existence,  but  even  all  possible  existence,  must 
necessarily  be  either  body  or  spirit.  I  wonder  how 
human  capacities,  contracted  as  they  are  within  liin- 
its  so  narrow,  dare  be  so  bold  as  to  prescribe  bounds 
to  their  Creator,  and  restrain  his  intelligence  with- 
in their  own  sphere.  If  it  were  allowable  to  ad- 
vance any  thing  upon  the  ujost  abstract  subject  that 
can  be  proposed,  I  would  venture  to  say  that  it  is 
highly  probable,  that  the  same  depth  of  divine  in- 
telligence, which  conceived  the  ideas  of  body  atid 
spirit,  conceiveth  other  ideas  without  end  :  it  is 
highly  probable,  that  possibility,  (if  I  may  be  al- 
lowed to  say  so)  hath  no  other  bounds  than  the  in- 
finite knowledge  of  the  Supreme  Being.  What  an 
vmfathomable  depth  of  meditation,  my  brethren  1 
to  glance  at  it  is  to  confound  one's  self.  What 
would  our  perplexity  be  if  we  should  attempt  to 
enter  it  ?  The  knowledge  of  all  possible  beings,  di- 
versified without  end  by  the  same  intelligence  that 


wid  the  Abundance  of  his  Power.  203 

imagines  them  :  What  designs,  or,  as  our  prophet 
expresseth  himself.  What  greatness  of  counsel  dolh 
it  afford  the  Supreme  Being  ? 

But  let  us  not  lose  ourselves  in  the  world  of  pos- 
sible beings ;  let  us  confine  our  attention  to  real 
existences  :  I  am  willing  even  to  reduce  them  to 
the  two  classes,  which  were  just  now  mentioned. 
Let  each  of  you  imagine,  my  brethren,  as  far  as 
his  ability  can  reach,  how  great  the  counsel  of  an 
intelligence  must  be,  who  perfectly  knows  all  that 
can  result  from  the  various  arrangements  of  matter, 
and  from  the  different  modifications  of  mind. 

What  greatness  of  counsels  must  there  be  in  an 
intelligence,  who  perfectly  knows  all  that  can  result 
from  the  various  arrangements  of  matter  ?  What  is 
matter?  What  is  body?  It  is  a  being  divisible  into 
parts,  which  parts  may  be  variously  arranged  with- 
out end,  and  from  which  as  many  different  bodies 
may  arise,  as  there  can  be  diversities  in  the  arrange- 
ment of  their  parts.  Let  us  proceed  from  small 
things  to  great.  Put  a  grain  of  wheat  to  a  little 
earth,  warm  that  earth  with  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
the  grain  of  wheat  will  become  an  ear  laden  with  a 
great  many  grains  like  that  which  produced  them. 
Give  the  parts  of  these  grains  an  arrangement  dif- 
ferent from  that  w  hich  they  had  in  the  ear,  sepa- 
rate the  finer  from  the  coarser  parts,  mix  a  few  drops 
of  water  with  the  former,  and  ye  will  procure  a 
paste  :  produce  a  small  alteration  of  the  parts  of  this 
paste,  and  it  will  become  bread  :  let  the  bread  be 
bruised  with  the  teeth,  and  it  will  become  flesh,  bone, 
blood,  and  so  on.    The  same  reasoninsf,  that  we 


204:  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom, 

have  applied  to  a  grain  of  wheat,  may  be  applied 
to  a  piece  of  gold,  or  to  a  bit  of  clay,  and  we  know 
what  a  multitude  of  arts  in  society  have  been  pro- 
duced by  the  knowledge,  which  mankind  have  ob- 
tained of  the  different  arrangements  of  which  matter 
is  capable. 

.  But  mankind  can  perceive  only  one  point  of  mat- 
ter ;  a  point  placed  between  two  infinites ;  an  infi- 
nitely great,  and  an  infinitely  small.  Two  sorts  of 
bodies  exist  beside  those  that  are  the  objects  of  our 
senses,  one  sort  is  infinitely  great,  the  other  infinite- 
ly small.  Those  enormous  masses  of  matter,  of 
which  we  have  only  a  glimpse,  are  bodies  infinitely 
great,  such  as  the  sun,  the  stars,  and  an  endless  num- 
ber of  worlds  in  the  immensity  of  space,  to  us  in- 
deed imperceptible,  but  the  existence  of  which, 
however,  we  are  obliged  to  allow.  Bodies  infinite- 
ly small  are  those  minute  particles  of  matter,  which 
are  too  fine,  and  subtile  to  be  subject  to  our  ex- 
periments, and  seem  to  us  to  have  no  solidity,  on- 
ly because  our  senses  are  too  gross  to  discover 
them,  but  which  lodge  an  infinite  number  of  organ- 
ized beings. 

Having  laid  down  these  indisputable  data,  let  us 
see  what  may  be  argued  from  them.  If  the  know- 
ledge that  men  have  obtained  of  one  portion  of  mat- 
ter, and  a  few  different  arrangements  of  which  it  is 
capable,  hath  produced  a  great  number  of  arts  that 
make  society  flourish,  and  without  the  help  of  which 
life  itself  would  be  a  burden  ;  what  would  follow  if 
they  could  discover  all  matter  ?  What  would  fol- 
low their  knowledge  of  those  other  bodies,  which 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power.         205 

now  absorb  their  capacities  by  their  greatness,  and 
escape  their  experiments  by  their  littleness  ?  What 
would  follow  if  they  could  obtain  adequate  ideas  of 
the  various  arrangements  of  which  the  parts  of  bo- 
dies infinitely  great  and  those  of  bodies  infinitely 
small  are  capable  ?  What  secrets  !  What  arts !  What 
an  infinite  source  of  supplies  would  that  knowledge 
become  ? 

Now  this,  my  brethren,  is  the  knowledge  of  the 
Supreme  Being.  The  Supreme  Being  knows  as 
perfectly  all  bodies  infinitely  great,  and  all  bodies 
infinitely  small,  as  he  knows  those  bodies  between 
both,  which  are  the  objects  of  human  knowledge. 
The  Supreme  Being  perfectly  knows  what  must  re- 
sult from  every  different  arrangement  of  the  parts  of 
bodies  infinitely  small ;  and  he  perfectly  knows  what 
must  result  from  every  different  arrangement  of  the 
parts  of  bodies  infinitely  great.  What  treasures  of 
plans  !  What  myriads  of  designs  !  or,  to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  my  text,  W^hat  greatness  of  counsel  must 
this  knowledge  supply! 

But  God.  knows  spirits  also  as  perfectly  as  he 
knows  bodies.  If  he  knows  all  that  must  result 
from  the  various  arrangements  of  matter,  he  also 
knows  all  that  must  result  from  the  different  modifi- 
cations of  mind.  Let  us  pursue  the  same  method 
in  this  article  that  we  have  pursued  in  the  former  ; 
let  us  proceed  from  small  things  to  great  ones.  One 
of  the  greatest  advantages  that  a  man  can  acquire 
over  other  men  with  whom  he  is  connected,  is  a 
knowledge  of  their  different  capacities,  the  various 


206  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom^ 

passions  that  govern  them,  and  the  multiform  pro- 
jects that  run  in  their  minds.  This  kind  of  know- 
ledge forms  profound  politicians,  and  elevates  them 
above  the  rest  of  mankind.  The  same  observation, 
that  we  have  made  of  the  superiority  of  one  politi- 
cian over  another  politician,  we  may  apply  to  one 
citizen  compared  with  another  citizen.  The  inter- 
est which  we  have  in  discovering  the  designs  of  our 
neighbours  in  a  city,  a  house,  or  a  family,  is  in  the 
little,  what  policy  among  princes  and  potentates  is  in 
the  great  world. 

But  as  I  just  now  said  of  the  material  world,  that 
we  knew  only  one  point,  which  was  placed  between 
two  undiscoverable  infinites,  an  infinitely  great,  and 
an  infinitely  small ;  so  I  say  of  the  world  of  spirits: 
an  infinite  number  of  spirits  exist,  which  in  regard 
to  us,  are  some  of  them  infinitely  minute,  and  others 
infinitely  grand.  We  are  ignorant  of  the  manner  of 
their  existence  ;  we  hardly  know  whether  they  do 
exist.  We  are  incapable  of  determining  whether 
they  have  any  influence  over  our  happiness,  or  if 
they  have,  in  what  their  influence  consists :  so  that 
in  this  respect  we  are  absolutely  incapable  of  coun- 
sel. 

But  God  the  Supreme  Being,  knows  the  intellir 
gent  world  as  perfectly  as  he  knows  the  material 
world.  Human  spirits,  of  which  we  have  but  an  im- 
perfect knowledge,  are  thoroughly  known  to  him. 
He  knows  the  conceptions  of  our  minds,  the  pas- 
sions of  our  hearts,  all  our  purposes,  and  all  our 
powers.  The  conceptions  of  our  minds  are  occa-^ 
sioned  by  the  agitation  of  our  brains ;  God  knows 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power.  207 

when  the  brain  will  be  agitated,  and  when  it  will  be 
at  rest,  and  before  it  is  agitated  he  knows  what  de- 
terminations will  be  produced  by  its  motion  :  Con- 
sequently he  knows  all  the  conceptions  of  our 
minds.  Our  passions  are  excited  by  the  presence 
of  certain  objects;  God  knows  when  those  objects 
will  be  present,  and  consequently  he  knows  wheth- 
er we  shall  be  moved  with  desire  or  aversion,  hatred 
or  love.  When  our  passions  are  excited  we  form 
certain  purposes  to  gratify  them,  and  these  purpo- 
ses w  ill  either  be  effected  or  defeated  according  to 
that  degree  of  natural  or  civil  power  w^hich  God 
hath  given  us.  God  who  gave  us  our  degree  of 
power,  knows  how  far  it  can  go ;  and  consequently 
he  knows  not  only  what  purposes  we  form,  but  what 
power  we  have  to  execute  them. 

But  what  is  this  object  of  the  divine  knowledge  ? 
What  is  this  handful  of  mankind,  in  comparison  of 
all  the  other  spirits  that  compose  the  whole  intelli- 
gent world,  of  which  we  are  only  an  inconsiderable 
part  ?  God  know  s  them  as  he  knows  us  ;  and  he  di- 
versifies the  counsels  of  his  own  w  isdom  according 
to  the  different  thoughts,  delibei-ations,  and  wishes 
of  these  different  spirits.  Wliat  a  depth  of  know- 
ledge, my  brethren !  What  "  greatness  of  counsel ! 
Ah,  Lord  God,  behold  thou  hast  made  the  heaven 
and  the  earth  by  thy  great  pow  er  and  stretched  out 
arm,  and  there  is  nothing  too  hard  for  thee.  The 
great,  the  mighty  God,  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  thy 
name,  thou  art  great  in  counsel." 

We  have  proved  then,  by  considering  the  divine 
perfections,  that  God  is  great  in  counsel,  and  we 


208  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom, 

shall  endeavour  to  prove  by  the  same  method  that 
he  is  mighty  in  work. 

These  two,  wisdom  and  power,  are  not  always 
united ;  yet  it  is  on  their  union  that  the  happiness 
of  intelliojent  bein:^s  depends.  It  would  be  often 
better  to  be  quite  destitute  of  both,  than  to  possess 
one  in  a  very  great,  and  the  other  in  a  very  small 
degree.  Wisdom  very  often  serves  only  to  render 
him  miserable,  who  is  destitute  of  power ;  as  pow^ 
€r  often  becomes  a  source  of  misery  to  him  who  is 
destitute  of  wisdom. 

Have  ye  never  observed,  my  brethren,  that  peo- 
ple of  the  finest  and  most  enlarged  geniusses,  have 
often  the  least  success  of  any  people  in  the  world  ? 
This  may  appear  at  first  sight  very  unaccountable, 
but  a  little  attention  will  explain  the  mystery.  A 
narrow  contracted  mind  usually  concenters  itself 
in  one  single  object:  it  wholly  employs  itself  in 
forming  projects  of  happiness  proportional  to  its 
own  capacity,  and  as  its  capacity  is  extremely  shal- 
low, it  easily  meets  with  the  means  of  executing 
them.  But  this  is  not  the  case  with  a  man  of  supe- 
rior genius,  whose  fruitful  fancy  forms  notions  of 
happiness  grand  and  sublime.  He  invents  noble 
plans,  involuntarily  gives  himself  up  to  his  own 
chimeras,  and  derives  a  p]easure  from  these  ingen- 
ious shadows,  which  for  a  few  moments,  compen- 
sates for  their  want  of  substance :  but  when  his  rev- 
erie is  over,  he  finds  real  beings  inferior  to  ideal 
ones,  and  thus  his  genius  serves  to  make  him  miser- 
able. A  man  is  much  to  be  pitied  in  my  opinion, 
when  the  penetration  of  his  mind;  and  the  fruitful- 


and  Ike  Abundance  of  fiis  Power.  209 

ness  of  Lis  invention,  furnish  him  with  ideas  of  a 
delightful  society  cemented  by  a  faithful,  solid  and 
delicate  friendship.  Recall  him  to  this  world, 
above  which  his  imagination  had  just  now  raised 
him ;  consider  him  among  men,  who  know  nothing 
of  friendsliip  but  its  name,  or  who  have  at  best  only 
a  superficial  knowledge  of  it,  and  ye  will  be  convin- 
ced that  the  art  of  inventing  is  often  the  art  of  self- 
tormenting,  or,  as  I  said  before,  that  greatness  of 
counsels  destitute  of  abundance  of  power  is  a  source 
of  infelicity. 

It  is  just  the  same  with  abundance  of  power  with- 
out greatness  of  counsels.  What  doth  it  avail  to 
possess  great  riches,  to  reign  over  a  great  people,  to 
command  formidable  fleets  and  armies,  when  this 
power  is  not  accompanied  with  >visdom  ? 

In  God,  the  Supreme  Being,  there  is  a  perfect 
harmony  of  wisdom  and  power:  The  efficiency  of 
his  will,  and  the  extent  of  his  knowledge  are  equal. 
But  I  own  I  am  afraid,  were  I  to  pursue  my  medi- 
tation, and  to  attempt  to  establish  this  proposition 
hy  proofs  taken  from  the  divine  nature,  that  I  should 
lose,  if  not  myself,  at  least  one  part  of  my  hearers, 
by  aiming  to  conduct  them  into  a  world,  \vith  which 
they  are  entirely  unacquainted.  However,  I  must 
say,  that  with  reluctance  I  make  this  sacrifice,  for  I 
suppress  speculations,  which  would  afford  no  small 
degree  of  pleasure  to  those  who  could  pursue  them. 
It  is  delightful  to  elevate  our  souls  in  meditating  on 
the  grandeur  of  God  ;  and  although  God  dwelleth 
in  a  light  which  no  man  can  apjfrroach  unto,  1  Tim. 
vi.  16.  although  it  is  impossible  for  feeble  mortals 

VOL.  I.  27 


21Q  The  Greatness  of  GocVs  Wisdom, 

to  have  a  free  access  to  him ;  yet  it  is  pleasing  to 
endeavour  to  diminish  the  distance  that  separates 
them.  I  cannot  but  think,  that  without  presuming 
too  much  upon  natural  reason,  any  one  who  habit- 
uates himself  to  consult  it,  may  assure  himself  of 
finding  sufficient  evidence  of  this  truth,  that  the  ef- 
ficiency of  God's  will  is  equal  to  the  extensiveness 
of  his  ideas,  and  by  close  and  necessary  conse- 
quence, that  he  is  as  mighty  in  work  as  he  is  great 
in  counsel. 

Carry  your  thoughts  back  into  those  periods  in 
which  the  Perfect  Being  existed  alone.  Sound  rea- 
son must  allow  that  he  hath  so  existed.  What 
could  then  have  been  the  rule  or  model  of  beings 
which  should  in  future  exist  ?  The  ideas  of  God 
were  those  models.  And  what  could  cause  those 
beings  that  bad  onlv  an  ideal  existence  in  the  intel- 
ligence  of  God,  actually  to  exist  out  of  it  ?  The  ef- 
ficiency of  his  will  was  the  cause.  The  will  of  the 
same  Being  then,  whose  ideas  had  been  the  exem- 
plars, or  models,  of  the  attributes  of  creatures, 
caused  their  existence.  The  Supreme  Being  there- 
fore, who  is  great  in  counsel,  is  mighty  in  work. 

This  being  granted,  consider  now  the  ocean  of 
God's  power,  as  ye  have  already  considered  the 
greatness  of  his  counseL  God  not  only  knows  what 
motion  of  your  brain  will  excite  such  or  such  an 
idea  in  your  mind,  but  he  excites  or  prevents  that 
idea  as  he  pleaseth,  because  he  produceth  or  pre- 
venteth  that  motion  of  your  brain  as  he  pleaseth. 
God  not  only  knows  what  objects  will  excite  cer- 
tain passions  within  you,  but  he  excites  or  diverts 


and  the  Abundance  of  Ids  Poner.  211 

those  passions  as  he  pleaseth.  God  not  only  knows 
what  projects  your  passions  will  produce,  when  they 
have  gained  an  ascendency  over  you,  but  he  inclines 
you  to  form,  or  not  to  form  such  projects,  because 
as  it  seems  best  to  him,  he  excites  those  passions,  or 
he  curbs  them. 

Wliat  we  affirm  of  men,  we  affirm  also  of  all  oth- 
er intellio;ent  beings  :  they  are  no  less  the  objects  of 
the  knowledge  of  God  than  men  are,  and  like  them, 
are  equally  subject  to  his  efficient  will :  and  hence 
it  is  that  God  knows  how  to  make  all  fuffil  his  de- 
signs. It  is  by  this  that  he  makes  every  thing  sub- 
servient to  his  glory  ;  Herod  and  Pilate,  our  hatred 
and  our  love,  our  aversions  and  our  desires ;  the 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  intelligences,  some 
of  which  are  superior  to  us,  and  others  inferior,  all 
that  they  are,  all  that  they  have,  the  praises  of  the 
blessed  and  the  blasphemies  of  the  damned,  all  by 
this  mean  are  instrumental  in  the  execution  of  his 
designs,  because  the  determinations  of  his  will  are 
efficient,  because  to  will  and  to  do,  to  form  a  plan 
and  to  have  the  power  of  executing  it,  is  the  same 
thing  with  the  Supreme  Being,  Avith  him  whose 
ideas  were  the  only  models  of  the  attributes  of  all 
creatures,  as  his  will  was  the  only  cause  of  their 
existence. 

But  perhaps  I  am  falling  into  what  I  meant  to 
avoid;  perhaps  I  am  bewildering  my  hearers  and 
myself  in  speculative  labyrinths  too  intricate  for  us 
all.  Let  us  reason  then  no  longer  on  the  nature  of 
God  ;  this  object  is  too  high  for  us :  Let  us  take 
another  method,  (and  here  I  allege  the  second  proof 


212  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom, 

of  the  truth  of  rny  text,  that  is,  the  history  of  the 
world,  or  as  I  said  before,  the  history  of  the  church  :) 
Let  us  take,  I  say,  another  method  of  proving  that 
God  who  is  great  in  counsel,  is  also  mighty  in  rvork. 
What  counsel  can  ye  imagine  too  great  for  God  to 
execute,  or  which  he  hath  not  really  executed  ?  Let 
the  most  fruitful  imagination  exert  its  fertility  to 
the  utmost;  let  it  make  every  possible  effort  to 
form  plans  worthy  of  an  infinite  intelligence,  it  can 
invent  nothing  so  difficult  that  God  hath  not  reali- 
zed. 

It  should  seem,  according  to  our  manner  of  rea- 
soning, that  greatness  of  wisdom  and  sufficiency  of 
•power  never  appear  in  greater  harmony  in  an  intelli- 
gent being,  than  when  that  intelligence  produceth 
effects  by  means,  in  all  appearance,  more  likely  to 
produce  contrary  effects.  This,  we  are  sure,  God 
hath  effected,  and  doth  effect  every  day.  And,  that 
we  may  proportion  this  discourse,  not  to  the  extent 
of  my  subject,  but  to  the  length  of  these  exercises, 
we  will  briefly  remark,  that  God  hath  the  power  of 
making,  L  The  deepest  afflictions  of  his  children 
produce  their  highest  happiness.  2.  The  contrivan- 
ces of  tyrants  to  oppress  the  church  procure  its  es- 
tablishment. 3.  The  triumphs  of  Satan  turn  to  tho 
destruction  of  his  empire. 

L  God  hath  the  power  of  making  the  deepest  of 
his  children's  afflictions  produce  their  highest  hap- 
piness. 

The  felicity  of  the  children  of  God,  and,  in  gen- 
eral, the  felicity  of  all  intelligent  beings,  is  found- 
ed upon  order.    All  happiness  that  is  not  founded 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power,  213 

upon  order  is  a  violent  state,  and  must  needs  be  of 
a  short  duration.  But  the  essence  of  order,  among 
intelligent  beings,  is  the  assigning  of  that  place  in 
their  affections  to  every  relative  being  which  is  fit 
for  it.  Now  there  is  a  fitness  in  having  a  higher  es- 
teem for  a  being  of  great  excellencies  than  for  one 
of  small.  There  is  a  fitness  in  my  having  a  higher 
degree  of  affection  for  one  of  whom  I  have  receiv^- 
ed  more  benefits,  and  from  whom  I  still  expect  to 
receive  more,  than  for  one  of  whom  I  have  receiv- 
ed, and  still  hope  to  receive,  fewer.  But  God  is  a 
being  of  the  highest  excellence,  to  God  therefore 
1  owe  the  highest  degree  of  esteem.  God  is  the  be- 
ing of  whom  I  have  received  the  most  benefits,  and 
of  whom  I  expect  to  receive  the  most ;  consequent- 
ly, to  God  I  owe  the  highest  degree  of  affectionate 
gratitude. 

Yet,  how  often  do  the  children  of  God  lose  sight 
of  this  grand  principle  ?  I  do  not  speak  only  of  a 
few  absent  moments,  in  which  the  power  of  thought 
and  reflection  is,  in  a  manner,  gone  ;  nor  do  I  mean 
only  those  violent  passions  Avhich  criminal  objects 
excite  :  I  speak  of  a  poison  much  less  sensible,  and 
therefore  perhaps  much  more  dangerous.  We  will 
give  you  one  example  out  of  many. 

Two  pious  persons  enter  into  the  honourable 
state  of  marriage  on  principles  of  virtue,  and  com- 
pose a  family  that  reveres  the  Creator  by  consider- 
ing him  as  the  only  source  of  all  the  blessings  which 
they  enjoy.  Their  happiness  consists  in  celebrating 
the  benificence  and  perfections  of  the  adorable  God, 
and  all  their  possessions  they  devote  to  his  glory. 


214  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom^ 

He  blesseth  their  union  by  multiplying  those  who 
compose  it,  and  their  children  imbibe  knowledge 
and  virtue  from  the  womb.  The  parents  taste  the 
most  delicious  pleasure  in  the  world,  in  cultivating 
the  promising  geniusses  of  their  children,  and  in 
seeing  the  good  grain,  which  they  sow  in  a  field  fa- 
voured of  heaven,  produce  in  one  thirty,  in  another 
sixty,  in  another  an  hundred  fold,  and  they  delight 
themselves  with  the  hopes  of  giving  one  child  to  the 
state,  and  another  to  the  church  ;  this  to  an  art,  and 
that  to  a  science,  and  thus  of  enriching  society  with 
the  most  valuable  of  all  treasures,  virtuous  and  ca- 
pable citizens.  All  on  a  sudden  this  delicious  un- 
ion is  impoisoned  and  dissolved ;  this  amiable  fond- 
ness is  interrupted  ;  those  likely  projects  are  discon- 
certed: an  unexpected  catastrophe  sweeps  away 
that  fortune,  by  which  alone  their  designs  for  their 
family  could  have  been  accomplished ;  the  child  of 
their  greatest  hopes  is  cut  down  in  the  beginning  of 
his  race ;  the  head  of  the  family  expires  at  a  time  in 
which  his  life  is  most  necessary  to  it.  A  disconso- 
late widow,  an  helpless  family  exposed  to  every 
danger,  are  the  sad  remains  of  a  house  just  now  a 
model  of  the  highest  human  happiness,  and,  in  all 
appearance,  of  the  purest  piety.  Is  not  this  the 
depth  of  misery  ? 

From  this  depth  of  misery,  however,  ariseth  the 
highest  felicity.  The  prosperity,  of  which  we  have 
been  speaking,  was  so  much  the  more  dangerous  by 
how  much  the  more  innocent  it  appeared  ;  for  if  the 
persons  in  question  had  founded  it  in  vice,  they 
would  have  quickly  forsaken  it,  as  wholly  incom- 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power.  21.5 

patible  with  their  pious  principles ;  but,  as  they  had 
founded  it  in  piety,  there  is  great  reason  to  fear  that 
they  had  placed  too  much  of  their  happiness  in 
earthly  prosperity,  and  that  it  had  almost  entirely 
engaged  the  attention  of  their  minds,  and  set  bounds 
to  the  desires  of  their  hearts.  But  what  is  it  to  en- 
gage  the  mind  too  much  in  temj)oral  prosperity  ?  It 
is  to  lose  sight  of  God  our  chief  good  in  a  world 
where  at  best  we  can  obtain  but  an  imperfect  know- 
ledge of  him.  What  is  it  to  confine  the  desires  of 
our  hearts  to  earthly  happiness?  It  is  to  forget  our 
best  interest  in  a  world,  where,  when  we  have  car- 
ried that  love,  which  God  so  abundantly  merits,  to 
the  highest  pitch,  we  can  offer  him  but  a  very  im- 
perfect service.  Every  object  that  produceth  such 
an  effect  occupies  a  place  in  the  heart,  which  is  due 
to  none  but  God.  And  while  any  other  fills  the 
seat  of  God  in  the  heart,  we  may  indeed  have  a 
kind  of  happiness,  but  it  must  be  a  happiness  con- 
trary to  order ;  it  is  violent  and  must  be  short,  f 
nm  aware  that  the  loss  will  be  bitter  in  the  same  de- 
gree as  the  enjoyment  had  been  sw^eet ;  but  the  bit- 
terness wall  produce  ineffkble  pleasures,  infinitelv 
preferable  to  all  those  that  have  been  taken  away. 
It  will  reclaim  us  again  to  God,  the  only  object  W'or- 
thy  of  our  love,  the  alone  fountain  of  all  our  felicity. 
This  may  be  inferred  from  many  declarations  of 
scripture,  and  from  the  lives  of  many  exemplars- 
saints,  as  well  as  from  your  own  experience,  if  in- 
deed, my  dear  hearers,  when  God  hath  torn  away 
the  objects  of  your  tenderest  affection,  ye  have  been 
so  wise  as  to  make  this  use  of  your  losses,  to  re-es- 


216  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom, 

tablisli  order  in  your  hearts,  and  to  give  tliat  place 
to  God  in  your  souls  which  the  object  held  of 
whicli  ye  have  been  deprived. 

2.  God  establislieth  his  church  by  the  very  means 
that  tyrants  use  to  destroy  it.  But  the  reflections 
which  naturally  belong  to  this  article,  ye  heard  a 
few  weeks  ago,  when  we  explained  these  words  in 
the  Revelation,  Here  is  the  patience  of  the  saints,^ 
Rev.  xiii.  10.  We  endeavoured  then  to  prevent 
the  gloomy  fears  that  might  be  occasioned  in  your 
minds  by  those  new  edicts,  which  Rome,  always  in- 
tent upon  making  the  kings  of  the  earth  drunk  rvith 
her  fornication.  Rev.  xvii.  2.  had  extorted  against 
your  brethren.  We  exhorted  you,  in  the  greatest 
tribulations  of  the  church,  never  to  lose  sight  of 
that  Divine  Providence  which  w^atches  to  preserve 
it. 

We  reminded  you  of  some  great  truths  that  pro- 
ceeded from  the  mouth  of  God  himself;  such  as, 
that  the  Assyrian  was  only  the  rod  of  his  anger,  (Isa. 
X.  5.)  that  Herod  and  Pilate  did  only  what  his  hand 
and  his  counsel  determined  before  to  be  done,  Acts  iv. 
27,  28.  These  truths  should  be  always  in  our 
minds,  for  there  never  was  a  time  when  we  had 
more  need  to  meditate  on  them.  The  distresses  of 
our  brethren  seem  to  be  past  remedy.  To  incorpo- 
rate our  felicity  with  that  of  a  church,  a  considera- 
ble part  of  which  hath  been  so  long  bathed  in  tears, 
seems  as  irrational  as  the  conduct  of  Jeremiah,  who, 
just  before  the  desolation  of  Judea,  purchased  an 

*  This  is  the  seventh  sermon  of  the  twelfth  vol.  and  is  entitled, 
Le  J\''ouveaux  Malheurs  de  VEglise, 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power*  217 

estate  in  that  devoted  country  with  the  money  which 
lie  wanted  to  alleviate  his  captivity  in  Babylon. 
Yet,  "  O  Lord  God,  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all 
ilesh,  is  there  any  thing  too  hard  for  thee  ?  Thou 
liast  made  the  heaven  and  the  earth  by  thy  great 
power,  and  by  thy  stretched  out  arm.  Tliou  art 
the  great,  the  mighty  God,  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  thy 
name ;  great  in  counsel,  and  miglity  in  work,'* 
JNum.  xvi.  22. 

3.  Finally,  God  turneth  the  victories  of  Satan  to 
the  ruin  of  his  empire.  Here  fix  your  attention 
upon  the  work  of  redemption,  for  the  perfections 
of  God,  which  we  celebrate  to-day,  are  more  illus- 
triously displayed  in  it  than  in  any  other  of  the 
Creator's  wonders.  It  is,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to 
express  myself  so,  the  utmost  effort  of  the  concur- 
rence of  the  greatness  of  his  counsels  with  the  abun- 
dance of  his  poller,  I  resume  this  subject,  not  for 
the  sake  of  filling  up  my  plan,  but  because  my  text 
cannot  be  well  explained  without  it.  Those  inspir- 
ed writers,  who  lived  under  the  Old  Testament  dis* 
pensation,  always  mixed  sofuething  of  the  gospel 
redemption  with  the  temporal  deliverances  which 
they  foretold.  One  of  the  strongest  reasons,  that 
they  urged  to  convince  the  Jewish  exiles  that  God 
would  restore  their  country  to  them,  was  that  their 
return  was  essential  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
promises  relating  to  the  IMessiah.  Jeremiah  par- 
ticularly uses  this  method  in  the  verses  which  are 
connected  with  the  text.  Why  doth  he  exalt  the 
greatness  of  God's  counsel,  and  the  abundance  of  his 
po?ver  I  Is  it  only  because,  as  he  expresseth  it,  "  God 

VOL.  I.  28 


218  llie  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom, 

would  gather  the  Jews  out  of  all  countries  whither 
he  had  driven  them  in  his  fury,"  (Jer.  xxxii.  37.)  so 
that  men  should  buy  fields  in  the  places  about  Jerusa- 
lem 1  No,  but  it  is  because  he  "  would  make  an 
everlasting  covenant  with  them,"  (Jer.  xxxii.  40.) 
It  is  because  "  at  that  time  he  would  cause  the 
branch  of  righteousness  to  grow  up  unto  David," 
Jer.  xxxiii.  15.  Who  is  this  branch?  It  is  he  of 
whom  our  prophet  had  before  spoken  in  the  twenty- 
third  chapter  of  his  prophecy,  ver.  5.  "  Behold  the 
days  come  that  I  will  raise  unto  David  a  righteous 
branch."  It  is  he  of  whom  Isaiah  said,  "  The 
branch  of  the  I^ord  shall  be  beautiful  and  glorious," 
isa.  iv.  2.  It  is  he  whom  God  promised  by  Zecha- 
riah  after  the  captivity,  in  order  to  convince  the 
Jews  that  the  promises  concerning  the  branch  had 
not  been  accomplished  by  their  release :  "  Behold 
the  man  whose  name  is  The  Branch,  he  shall  grow 
Up  out  of  his  place,  and  he  shall  build  the  temple 
of  the  Lord/*  Zech.  vi.  12.  It  is  he  whom  the  Jews 
themselves  have  acknowledged  for  the  Messiah.  It 
Is  the  holy  seed,  who  was  promised  to  man  after  the 
fall,  and  who  hath  been  the  object  of  the  church's 
hope  in  all  ages.  It  is  eminently  in  behalf  of  this 
tranch  that  God  hath  displayed,  as  I  said  before,  in 
all  their  grandeur,  the  abundance  of  his  porver,  and 
the  greatness  of  his  counsel.  I  do  not  speak  here  of 
Ihat  counsel,  which  hath  been  from  all  eternity,  in 
the  intelligence  of  God,  touching  the  redemption 
'bf  mankind.  My  capacity  is  absorbed,  I  own,  in 
contemplating  so  grand  an  object,  and  to  admire 
and  to  exclaim  seem  more  suitable  to  our  finite 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power.  219 

minds  than  to  attempt  to  fathom  such  a  prodigious 
depth :  for  where  is  the  genius  that  can  form  ade- 
quate ideas  of  a  subject  so  profound  ^  A  God,  who 
from  all  eternity  fonried  the  plan  of  this  universe: 
a  God,  who  from  all  eternity  foresaw  whatever 
would  result  from  its  arrangement :  a  God,  who, 
from  all  eternity,  resolved  to  create  mankind,  al- 
though he  knew  from  all  eternity  that  they  would 
fall  into  sin,  and  plunge  themselves  into  everlasting 
miseries  :  but  a  God,  who,  foreseeing  from  all  eter^ 
nity  the  malady,  from  all  eternity  provided  the  rem- 
edy :  a  God,  who  from  everlasting  determined  to 
clothe  his  Son  in  mortal  flesh,  and  to  send  him  into 
the  world :  a  God,  who,  according  to  the  language 
of  scripture,  slew,  in  his  design  from  all  eternity,  the 

lamb Rev.  xiii.  8.     But,  I  repeat  it 

again,  my  brethren,  it  better  becomes  such  feeble 
minds  as  ours  to  admire  and  to  exclaim,  than  to 
attempt  to  fathom.  Let  us  content  ourselves  with 
beholding  in  the  execution  of  this  divine  plan,  how 
the  victories  of  Satan  have  subverted  his  empire. 

What  a  victory  for  Satan,  when  that  Redeemer, 
that  king  Messiah,  whose  advent  had  been  announ- 
ced with  so  much  pomp  and  magnificence,  appeared 
in  a  form  so  mean,  and  so  inferior  to  the  expec- 
tations which  the  prophecies  had  occasioned,  and 
to  the  extraordinary  work  for  which  he  came  into 
the  world,  when  he  lodged  in  a  stable,  and  lay  in  a 
manger ! 

What  a  triumph  for  Satan,  w^hen  Jesus  had  no  at- 
tendants but  a  few  miserable  fishermen,  and  a  few 
publicans  as  contemptible  as  their  master ! 


220  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom^ 

What  a  victory  for  Satan,  when  Jesus  was  appre- 
hended as  a  malefactor,  dragged  from  one  tribunal 
to  another,  and,  in  fine,  condemned  by  his  judges  to 
die! 

What  a  victory  had  Satan  obtained,  when  the  ob- 
ject of  Israel's  hopes  was  nailed  to  an  accursed 
tree,  and  there  ended  a  life,  upon  which  seemed  to 
depend  the  salvation  of  mankind ! 

W^hat  a  triumphant  victory  for  Satan,  when  he 
had  inspired  the  nation  of  the  risen  Redeemer  to 
treat  the  report  of  his  resurrection  as  an  impos- 
ture, and  to  declare  an  everlasting  war  against  him 
in  the  persons  of  all  who  durst  declare  in  his  fa- 
vour! 

But  however,  the  more  impracticable  the  redemp- 
tion of  mankind  seemed,  the  more  did  God  dis- 
play the  greatness  of  his  counsel  and  the  abundance 
of  his  poner  in  effecting  it :  for  he  turned  all  the 
triumphs  of  Satan  to  the  destruction  of  his  domin- 
ion. 

The  Branch  was  lodged  in  a  stable,  the  king  of 
the  universe  did  lie  in  a  manger ;  but  a  star  in  the 
heavens  announced  his  birth,  angels  conducted  wor- 
shippers to  him  from  the  most  distant  eastern  coun- 
tries, and  joined  their  own  adorations  to  those  of 
the  wise  men,  who  offered  to  him  their  gold,  their 
frankincense  and  their  myrrh. 

His  attendants  were  only  a  few  fishermen  and 
publicans ;  but  this  served  the  more  effectually  to 
secure  his  doctrine  from  the  most  odious  objections 
that  could  be  opposed  against  it.  The  meaner  the 
vessel  appears,  the  more  excellent  seems  the  trea?- 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power,  221 

lire  contained  in  it :  the  weaker  the  instruments 
employed  in  buildinor  the  church  appear,  the  more 
evident  will  the  ability  of  the  builder  be.  These 
fishermen  confounded  philosophers;  these  publi- 
cans struck  the  Rabbles  dumb ;  the  winds  and  the 
waves  were  subject  to  their  authority ;  and  to 
their  commands  all  the  powers  of  nature  were  seen 
to  bow. 

He  was  apprehended  like  a  malefactor,  and  cru- 
cified ;  but  upon  the  cross  he  bruised  the  serpent's 
head  while  Satan  vaunted  of  bruising  his  hecly  Gen. 
iii.  15.  Upon  the  cross  "he  spoiled  principalities 
and  powers,  and  made  a  shew  of  them  openly,  tri- 
umphing over  them  in  it,"  Col.  ii.  15. 

He  was  wrapped  in  burying  clothes,  laid  on  a 
bier,  and,  with  all  the  momnful  funiiture  of  death, 
deposited  in  a  tomb  ;  but  by  this  he  conquered 
death,  and  disarmed  him  of  his  sting,  1  Cor.  xv. 
56.  By  ttiis  he  furnished  thee.  Christian,  with  ar- 
mour of  proof  against  the  attacks  of  the  tyrant, 
who  would  enslave  thee,  and  whose  formidable  ap- 
proaches have  caused  thee  so  many  fears. 

He  was  rejected  by  his  own  countrymen,  even  af- 
ter he  had  risen  victorious  from  the  tomb,  laden  with 
the  spoils  of  the  king  of  terrors.  Job  xviii.  14.  but 
their  rejection  of  him  animated  his  apostles  to  shake 
oft'  the  dust  from  their  feet  against  those  execrable 
men,  who,  after  they  had  murdered  the  master,  en- 
deavoured to  destroy  the  disciples,  and  put  them 
upon  lifting  up  the  standard  of  the  cross  in  every 
other  pail  of  the  universe,  and  this  the  heathen  world 
>vas  bound  to  his  triumphal  chariot,  and  the  whole 


222  The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom^ 

earth  saw  the  accomplishment  of  those  proohecies 
which  had  foretold  that  he  should  "  reign  from  sea 
to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth." 
How  great  the  counsel!  my  dear  brethren,  how  ?nigh' 
ty  the  work !  "  Ah,  Lord  God,  there  is  nothing  too 
hard  for  thee."  Thou  aii  "  the  great,  the  mighty- 
God,  the  Lord  of  hosts  is  thy  name,  great  in  counsel, 
and  mighty  in  work." 

Here  we  may  pause,  and  very  properly  come  to  a 
conclusion  of  this  discourse  ;  for,  though  we  pro- 
posed at  first  to  consider  "  the  greatness  of  God's 
counsel,  and  the  omnipotence  of  his  working,"  in  a 
practical  light,  after  having  examined  them  specu- 
latively, yet,  methinks,  the  examination  of  tlie  sub- 
ject in  one  point  of  light,  is  the  explication  of  it  in 
both.  When  we  have  proved  that  God  is  great  in 
counsel,  and  mighty  hi  work,  in  my  opinion,  we  have 
sufficiently  shown,  on  the  one  hand,  the  extrava- 
gance of  those  madmen,  who,  in  the  language  of 
the  wise  man,  pretend  to  exercise  "  wisdom  and  un- 
derstanding, and  counsel  against  the  Lord,"  Prov. 
xxi.  20.  and  on  the  other,  the  wisdom  of  those,  who, 
taking  his  laws  for  the  only  rules  of  their  conversa- 
tion, commit  their  peace,  their  lives,  and  their  sal- 
vations, to  the  disposal  of  his  providence.  Only  let 
us  take  care,  my  dear  brethren,  (and  with  this  single 
exhoilation  we  conclude)  let  us  take  care,  that  we 
do  not  flatter  ourselves  into  an  opinion  that  we  pos- 
sess this  wisdom  while  we  are  destitute  of  it :  and  let 
us  take  care,  while  we  exclaim  against  the  extrava- 
gance of  those  madmen,  of  whom  I  just  now  spoke, 
that  we  do  not  imitate  their  dangerous  examples. 


\\ 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power.  223 

But  what!  Is  it  possil^le  to  find,  among  beings 
who  have  the  least  spark  of  reason,  an  indivichial 
mad  enough  to  suppose  himself  wiser  than  that  God 
who  is  great  in  coimscl,  or,  is  there  one  who  dare  re- 
sist a  God  miirhtij  in  working  !  My  brethren,  one  of 
tlie  most  difficult  questions,  that  we  meet  with  in 
the  study  of  human  nature,  is,  whether  some  actions 
in  men's  lives  proceed  from  intentions  in  their  minds. 
To  affinn,  or  to  deny,  is  eciually  difficult.  On  the 
one  hand,  we  can  hardly  believe  that  an  intelligent 
creature  can  revolve  intentions  in  his  mind  directly 
opposite  to  intelligence,  and  the  extravagance  of 
which  the  least  ray  of  intelligence  seems  sufficient 
to  discover.  On  the  other,  we  can  hardly  think  it 
possible,  that  this  creature  shoidd  follow  a  course  of 
life  altogether  founded  on  such  an  intention,  if  in- 
deed he  have  it  not  in  his  mind.  I'he  truth  is,  a 
question  of  this  kind  may  he  either  affirmed  or  deni- 
ed according  to  the  diiTerent  lights  in  which  it  is  cort- 
^idered.  Put  these  cjuestions  to  the  most  megular 
of  mankind:  Dost  thou  pretend  to  oppose  God? 
Hast  thou  the  presumption  to  attempt  to  prevail  over 
hhn  by  thy  buperiority  of  knoAvledge  and  power  ? 
Fut  these  questions  simply  apart  from  the  conduct, 
and  ye  will  hardly  meet  with  one  who  will  not  arn 
swer  No.  But  examine  the  conduct,  not  only  of 
the  most  irregular  men,  but  even  of  those  who  ima- 
gine  that  theii'  behavior  is  the  most  prudent ;  pene- 
trate those  secret  thoughts,  which  they  involve  in 
darkness  in  order  to  conceal  the  hoiTor  of  them  from 
themselves  ;  and  ye  v>'iil  soon  discover  tliat  they,  wiio 
answered  so    pertinently  to   your   questions  when 


224  The  Greatness  of  God's   IVisdom, 

ye  proposed  them  simply,  will  actually  take  the  op- 
posite side  when  ye  propose  tiie  same  questions  rela- 
tively. But  who  then,  ye  will  ask  me,  who  are  those 
men,  who  presumptuously  think  of  overcoming  God 
by  their  superior  knowledge  and  pow  er  ? 

Who  ?  It  is  that  soldier,  who,  with  a'brutal  cour- 
age, defies  danger,  affronts  death,  resolutely  march- 
es amidst  fires  and  flames,  even  though  he  hath  ta- 
ken no  care  to  have  an  interest  in  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
or  to  commit  his  soul  to  his  trust. 

Who  ?  It  is  that  statesman,  wiio,  despising  the 
suggestions  of  evangelical  prudence,  pursues  strata- 
gems altogether  worldly;  who  makes  no  scruple  of 
committing  what  are  called  state-crimes  ;  who,  w  ith 
a  disdainful  air,  affects  to  pity  us,  when  we  aflSrm, 
that  the  most  advantageous  service,  that  a  wise  le- 
gislator can  perform  for  society,  is  to  render  the 
Deity  propitious  to  it ;  that  the  happiest  nations 
are  those  "  whoseGod  is  the  Lord,"  Ps.  xxxiii.  12. 

Who?  It  is  that  philosopher,  who  makes  a  pa- 
rade of  I  know  not  v.  hat  stoical  firmness  ;  who  con- 
ceits himself  superior  to  all  the  vicissitudes  of  life ; 
who  boasts  of  his  tranquil  expectation  of  death,  yea, 
W'ho  affects  to  desire  its  approach,  for  the  sake  of 
enjoying  the  pleasure  of  insulting  his  casuist,  who 
hath  ventured  to  foretel  that  he  will  be  terrified  at  it. 

Who?  It  is  that  voluptuary,  wlio  opposeth  to  all 
our  exhortations  and  thieatenings,  to  the  most  af- 
fecting denunciations  of  calamities  from  God  in  this 
life,  and  to  the  most  awful  descriptions  of  judgment 
to  come  in  the  next,  to  all  our  representations  of 
hell,  of  an   eternity  spent   in  the   most  execrable 


and  the  Abundance  of  his  Power,  225 

company,  and  in  the  most  excrutiating  pain ;  who 
opposeth  to  all  these  the  buzz  of  amusements,  the 
hurry  of  company,  gaming  at  home  or  diversions 
abroad. 

Study  all  these  characters,  my  brethren,  lay  aside 
the  specious  appearances  that  men  use  to  conceal 
their  turpitude  from  themselves,  and  ye  will  find 
that,  to  dare  the  Deity,  to  pretend  by  superior  know- 
ledge and  strength  to  resist  the  w  isdom  and  omni- 
potence of  God,  is  not  so  rare  a  disposition  as  ye 
may  at  first  have  supposed. 

Let  us  abhor  this  disposition  of  mind,  my  breth- 
ren ;  let  us  entertain  right  notions  of  sin ;  let  us 
consider  him  who  commits  it  as  a  madman,  who 
hath  taken  it  into  his  head  that  he  hath  more  know- 
ledge than  God  the  fountain  of  intelligence,  more 
strength  than  he  beneath  whose  power  all  the  crea- 
tures of  the  universe  are  compelled  to  bow.  When 
we  are  tempted  to  sin,  let  us  remember  what  sin  is  : 
Let  each  of  us  ask  himself.  What  can  I,  a  miserable 
man  mean  ?  Do  I  mean  to  provoke  the  Lord  to  jeal- 
ousy 1  Do  I  pretend  to  be  stronger  than  he  ?  Can  I 
resist  his  ivill  1  Shall  I  set  briars  and  thorns  against 
him  in  battle  ?  He  will  go  through  them^  he  will  burn 
them  together,  1  Cor.  x.  22.  Rom.  ix.  19.  Isa.  xxvii. 
5.  Let  us  seek  those  benefits  in  a  communion  with 
the  great  God,  of  which  our  fanciful  passions  can 
only  offer  the  shadows.  Let  us  not  pretend  to  de- 
ceive him  by  the  subtilty  of  our  stratagems;  but  let 
us  endeavour  to  please  him  by  acknowledging  our 
doubts,  our  darkness,  and  our  ignorance ;  the  fluc- 

voL.  I.  29 


226       The  Greatness  of  God's  Wisdom,  ^c. 

tuations  of  our  minds  about  the  goTernment  of  the 
state,  the  management  of  our  families,  and  above 
all,  the  salvation  of  our  souls.  Let  us  not  appear 
in  his  presence  boasting  of  our  natural  power ;  but 
let  us  present  ourselves  before  him  weak,  trembling, 
and  undone.  By  the  greatness  of  his  compassion 
let  us  plead  with  him  to  pity  our  meanness  and  mis- 
sery.  Let  our  supplies  flow  from  the  fountains  of 
his  wisdom  and  power ;  this  is  real  wisdom ;  may 
God  inspire  us  with  it !  This  is  substantial  happi- 
ness ;  may  God  impart  it  to  us !  Amen.  To  him  be 
lionour  and  glory  for  ever. 


SERMON  VI. 

Tht  Holiness  of  God. 

Leviticus  xix.  1,  2. 

And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  Speak  unto 
all  the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and 
say  unto  them,  Ye  shall  be  holy :  for  I  the  Lord 
your  God  am  holy. 

I  ADDRESS  io  all  the  faithful,  whom  the  devo- 
tion of  this  day  hath  assembled  in  this  sacred  place, 
the  command  which  Moses  by  the  authority  of  God 
addressed  to  all  the  congregation  of  Israel.  How- 
ever venerable  this  assembly  may  be,  to  which  I  am 
this  day  called  by  Providence  to  preach,  it  cannot 
be  more  august  than  that  to  which  the  Jewish  legis- 
lator formedy  spoke.  It  was  composed  of  more 
than  eighteen  hundred  thousand  persons.  There 
were  magistrates  appointed  to  exercise  justice,  and 
to  represent  God  upon  eai-th.  There  were  priests 
and  Levites,  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  God, 
and  chosen  by  him  to  signify  liis  will  to  the  church. 
There  were  various  ranks  and  degrees  of  men  pro- 
portional to  so  great  a  multitude  of  people.  God 
had  given  particular  laws  before,  which  were  adapt- 
ed to  their  different  ranks,  and  to  their  various  cir- 
cumstances.    But  this  is  a  general  law  :  a  law  which 


228  Tlie  Holiness  of  God. 

equally  belongs  to  magistrates,  priests,  and  Levites : 
a  law  which  must  be  observed  at  all  times,  and  in  all 
places.  This  is  the  law  of  holiness  ;  Speak  unto  all 
the  congregation  of  the  children  of  Israel^  and  say 
unto  them,  Ye  shall  he  holy :  for  I  the  Lord  your 
God  am  holy, 

I  repeat  it  again,  my  brethren,  I  address  to  all  the 
faithful,  whom  the  devotion  of  this  day  hath  assem- 
bled in  this  sacred  place,  the.  same  precept  that  God 
commanded  Moses  to  address  to  all  the  congregation 
of  Israel.  The  law  of  holiness,  which  I  preach  to- 
day, commands  you  our  supreme  governors.  Arbi- 
ters of  your  own  lav/s,  ye  see  no  mortal  upon  earth 
to  whom  ye  are  accountable  for  your  conduct,  but 
there  is  a  God  in  heaven,  whose  creatures  and  sub- 
jects ye  are,  and  who  commands  you  to  be  holy. 
The  law  of  holiness  commands  you,  priests  and  Le- 
vites of  the  New  Testament.  The  sacred  character, 
with  which  ye  are  invested,  far  from  dispensing  wdth 
your  obligation  to  holiness,  enforceth  it  on  you  in  a 
more  particular  manner.  This  law  commands  you 
all,  my  dear  hearers,  of  what  order,  of  what  profes- 
sion, of  what  rank  soever  ye  be.  If  ye  be  a  chosen 
generation,  a  royal  priesthood,  a  peculiar  people,  ye 
ought  also  to  be  a  holy  7iation,  that  ye  may  sherv  forth 
the  praises  of  him  who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness 
into  his  marvellous  light,  1  Pet.  ii.  9.  Whatever  pre- 
rogative Moses  had  above  us,  we  have  the  same  law 
to  prescribe  to  you  that  he  had  to  Israel,  and  the 
voice  of  heaven  saith  to  us  now,  as  it  said  once  to 
him,  Speak  to  all  the  congregation  of  the  children  of 


The  Holiness  of  God.  229 

Israel,  and  say  unto  them.   Ye  shall  he  holy :  for  I 
the  Lord  your  God  am  holy. 

This  discourse  will  have  three  parts.  The  term 
holiness  is  equivocal,  and  consequently,  the  com- 
mand ye  shall  be  holy,  is  so.  We  will  endeavour  to 
fix  the  sense  of  the  term,  and  to  give  you  a  clear  and 
distinct  idea  of  the  word  holiness  :  this  will  be  our 
fiist  point. 

Holiness,  which  in  our  text  is  attributed  to  God, 
and  prescribed  to  men,  cannot  belong  to  such  dif- 
ferent beings  in  the  same  sense,  and  in  all  respects. 
We  w  ill  therefore  examine  in  w  hat  sense  it  belongs 
to  God,  and  in  what  sense  it  belongs  to  men ;  and 
we  will  endeavor  to  explain  in  what  respects  God  is 
holy,  and  in  what  respects  men  ought  to  be  holy  : 
this  will  be  our  second  part. 

Although  the  holiness  that  is  attributed  to  God, 
differs  in  many  respects  from  that  which  is  prescrib- 
ed to  men,  yet  the  first  is  the  ground  of  the  last. 
The  connection  of  these  must  be  developed,  and 
the  motive  enforced,  ye  shall  be  holy  for  I  the  Lord 
your  God  amholy  :  this  shall  be  our  thud  part.  And 
this  is  the  substance  of  all  that  we  intend  to  pro- 
pose. 

I.  The  term  holiness  is  equivocal,  and  consequent- 
ly, the  command,  ye  shall  be  holy,  is  so.  Let  us  en- 
deavor to  affix  a  determinate  sense  to  the  term,  and 
to  give  you  a  clear  and  distinct  idea  of  the  meaning 
of  the  w  ord  holiness.  The  original  term  is  one  of 
the  most  vague  words  in  the  HebreAV  language.  In 
general,  it  signifies  to  prepare,  to  set  apart,  to  de- 
vote.   The  nature  of  the  subject  to  which  it  is  ap- 


230  The  Holiness  of  God. 

plied,  and  not  the  force  of  the  term,  must  diiTct  us 
to  determine  its  meaning  in  passages  where  it  occurs. 
An  appointment  to  offices  the  most  noble,  and  the 
most  woilhy  of  intelligent  beings,  and  an  appoint- 
ment to  offices  the  most  mean  and  infamous,  are 
alike  expressed  by  this  word.  The  profession  of  the 
most  august  office  of  the  high  priesthood,  and  the 
abominable  profession  of  a  prostitute,  are  both  cal- 
led holiness  in  this  vague  sease. 

The  poorest  languages  are  those  in  which  words 
are  the  most  equivocal,  and  this  is  the  character  of 
the  Hebrew  language.  I  cannot  think  with  some 
that  it  is  the  most  ancient  language  in  the  world ; 
the  contrary  opinion,  I  think  is  supported  by  very 
sufficient  evidence.  However,  it  must  be  granted^ 
that  it  hath  one  grand  character  of  antiquity,  that 
is,  its  imperfection.  It  seems  to  have  been  invent- 
ed in  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  when  mankind 
could  express  their  ideas  but  imperfectly,  and  be- 
fore they  had  time  to  render  language  determinate, 
by  affixing  arbitrary  names  to  all  the  objects  of  their 
ideas. 

This  remark  may  at  first  appear  useless,  particu- 
larly in  such  a  discourse  as  this.  It  is,  however,  of 
great  consequence  ;  and  I  make  it  here  for  the  sake 
of  young  students  in  divinity  :  for,  as  the  writers  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures  frequently  make  use  of  terms, 
that  excite  seveml  ideas,  the  reasons  of  their  chus- 
ing  such  terms  will  be  enquired :  and  on  such  rea- 
sons as  the  fancies  of  students  assign,  some  maxims, 
and  even  some  doctrines  will  be  grounded.  I  could 
mention  more  mysteries  than  onC;,  that  have  been 


The  Holiness  of  God.  23^1 

found  in  scripture,  only  because  on  some  occasions 
it  useth  equivocal  terms.  An  interpreter  of  scrip- 
ture, should  indeed  assiduously  urge  the  force  of 
those  emphatical  expressions,  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
sometimes  useth  to  signify,  if  I  may  so  speak,  the 
ground  and  substance  of  the  truth  ;  but  at  the  same 
time,  he  should  avoid  searching  after  the  marvellous 
in  other  expressions,  that  are  employed  only  for  the 
sake  of  accommodating  the  discourse  to  the  genius 
of  the  Hebrew  tongue. 

The  force  of  the  tenu  holiness,  then  not  being  suf- 
ficient to  determine  its  meaning,  its  meaning  must  be 
sought  elsewhere.  We  must  enquire  the  object,  to 
which  he  devotes  himself,  who  in  our  scriptures,  is 
called  holy.  For,  as  all  those  words,  ye  shall  he  ho^ 
ly,  for  I  am  holy,  are  equal  to  these,  ye  shall  he  set 
apart,  or  ye  shall  he  devoted,  for  I  am  set  apart,  or 
devoted,  it  is  plain,  that  they  cannot  be  well  explain- 
ed unless  the  object  of  the  appointment  or  designa- 
tion be  deterirdned.  This  object  is  the  matter  of  our 
present  enquiry,  and  on  the  investigation  of  this  de- 
pends our  knowledge  of  what  we  call  holiness. 
Now,  this  subject  is  of  such  a  kind,  that  the  Aveak- 
est  Christian  may  form  some  idea  of  it,  while  the 
ablest  philosophers,  and  the  most  profound  divines, 
are  incapable  of  treating  it  with  the  precision,  and  of 
answering  all  the  questions  that  a  desire  of  a  complete 
explication  may  produce. 

The  weakest  Christians  may  form  (especially  if 
they  be  willing  to  avail  themselves  of  such  helps  as 
are  at  hand)  some  just  notions  of  what  we  call  holi- 
ness.   It  seems  to  me,  that  in  this  auditory  at  least 


232  The  Holiness  of  God, 

there  is  not  one  person,  who  is  incapable  of  pursu- 
ing the  following  meditation :  to  which  I  entreat 
your  attention. 

Suppose,  in  a  ivorld  entirely  remote  from  you,  a 
society,  to  which  ye  have  no  kind  of  relation,  and 
to  which  ye  never  can  have  any.  Suppose  that 
God  had  dispensed  with  an  obedience  to  his  laws  in 
favour  of  this  society,  had  permitted  the  members 
of  it  to  live  as  they  thought  proper,  and  had  assured 
them  that  he  would  neither  inflict  any  punishment 
upon  them  for  what  we  call  vice,  nor  bestow  any  re- 
wards on  an  attachment  to  what  we  call  virtue.  Sup- 
pose two  men  in  this  society,  making  an  opposite 
use  of  this  independence.  The  one  saith  to  him- 
self, Since  I  am  the  arbiter  of  my  own  conduct,  and 
the  Supreme  Being  on  whom  I  depend  hath  enga- 
ged to  require  no  account  of  my  actions,  I  will  con- 
sult no  other  rule  of  conduct  than  my  own  interest. 
Whenever  it  may  be  my  interest  to  deny  a  trust  re- 
posed in  me,  I  will  do  it  without  reluctance.  When- 
ever my  interest  may  require  the  destruction  of  my 
tenderest  and  most  faithful  friend,  I  myself  ^^W\  be- 
come his  executioner,  and  will  stab  him.  Thus  rea- 
sons one  of  them. 

The  other  on  the  contrary,  saith,  I  am  free  in- 
deed, I  am  responsible  only  to  myself  for  my  con- 
duct, but  however,  I  will  prescribe  to  myself  some 
rules  of  action,  which  I  will  inviolably  pursue.  I 
will  never  betray  a  trust  reposed  in  me,  but  I  will, 
with  the  utmost  fidelity  discharge  it,  whatever  in- 
terest I  may  have  to  do  otherwise.  I  will  careful- 
ly preserve  the  life  of  my  friend,  who  discovers  so 


The  Holiness  of  God,  233 

much  fidelity  and  love  to  me,  whatever  interest  I 
ma\  have  in  his  destruction.  We  ask  those  of  our 
hearers,  who  are  tiie  least  acquainted  with  medita- 
tions of  this  kind,  whether  tliey  can  prevail  with 
themselves  not  to  make  an  essential  diffierence  be- 
tween those  two  members  of  the  supposed  society  ? 
We  ask,  whether  ye  can  help  feelino^  a  horror  at 
the  first,  and  a  veneration  for  the  last  of  these  men  ? 
Now  this  conduct,  or  the  principles  of  this  conduct, 
for  which  we  cannot  help  feeling  veneration  and  res- 
pect, although  the  whole  passeth  i;i  a  world,  and  in 
a  society  to  which  we  have  no  relation,  and  to  which 
we  never  can  have  any,  these  are  the  principles,  I 
say,  to  which  he  is  devoted,  whom  our  scriptures 
call  holi/  :  these  principles  are  what  w  e  call  virtue, 
rectitude,  order,  or  as  the  text  expresseth  it,  holiness. 
Ye  shall  be  holy  :  for  I  the  Lord  your  God  am  holy. 

Let  us  proceed  a  little  farther  in  our  meditation, 
and  let  us  make  a  supposition  of  another  kind.  Ye 
have  all  some  idea  of  God.  Ye  have  at  least  this 
notion  of  him,  that  he  is  supremely  independent, 
and  that  none  can  punish  or  reward  him  for  the  use 
he  makes  of  his  independence.  Suppose,  as  well  as 
ye  can  without  blaspliemy,  that  he  should  lavish  his 
favours  on  the  faithless  depositary,  whom  we  just 
now  mentioned,  and  should  withhold  them  from  the 
other :  that  he  should  heap  benefits  upon  him,  who 
would  stab  his  tenderest  and  most  faithful  friend, 
and  expose  the  other  to  indigence  and  misery.  Sup- 
pose on  the  contrary,  that  God  should  liberally  be- 
stow his  favours  on  the  faithful  depositary,  and  re- 
fuse them  to  the  other.     I  ask  those  of  my  hearers, 

VOL.  r.  30 


234  The  Holiness  of  God, 

who  are  the  least  acquainted  with  a  meditation  of 
this  kind,  whether  they  can  help  making  an  essen- 
tial difference  between  these  two  uses  of  indepen- 
dence ?  Can  ye  help  feeling  more  veneration  and 
respect  for  the  Supreme  Being  in  the  latter  case 
than  in  the  former  ?  Now,  my  brethren,  I  repeat  it 
again,  the  laws  according  to  which  the  Supreme 
Being  acts,  are  the  laws  to  which  the  person  is  ap- 
pointed, or  set  apart,  who  in  the  holy  scriptures,  is 
denominated  holy.  Conformity  to  these  laws  is 
what  we  call  virtue,  rectitude,  order,  or  as  the  text 
expresseth  it,  holiness.  In  this  manner,  it  seems  to 
me,  that  the  weakest  Christian  (if  he  avail  himself  of 
such  helps  as  are  offered  to  him)  may  form  an  ade- 
quate idea  of  holiness. 

However,  it  is  no  less  certain  that  the  ablest  phi- 
losophers, and  the  most  consummate  divines,  find  it 
difficult  to  speak  with  precision  on  this  subject,  and 
to  answer  all  the  questions  that  have  arisen  about 
it.  Perhaps  its  perspicuity  may  be  one  principal 
cause  of  this  difficulty  :  for  it  is  a  rule,  of  which  we 
inform  those  to  whom  we  teach  the  art  of  reasoning 
justly,  that  when  an  idea  is  brought  to  a  certain  de- 
gree of  evidence  and  simplicity,  every  thing  that  is 
added  to  elucidate  serves  only  to  obscure  and  to 
perplex  it.  Hath  not  one  part  of  our  difficulties 
about  the  nature  of  right  and  wrong  arisen  from  the 
breach  of  this  rule  ? 

From  what  we  have  heard,  in  my  opinion,  we 
^lay  infer,  that  all  mankind  have  a  clear  and  distinct 
idea  of  holiness,  even  though  they  have  no  terms  to 
express  their  ideas  of  it  with  justness  and  precision. 


The  Holiness  of  God.  235 

It  seems  to  me  that  every  mechanic  is  able  to  de- 
cide the  following  questions,  although  they  have 
occasioned  so  many  disputes  in  schools.  On  what 
is  the  difference  between  a  just  and  an  unjust  action 
founded ;  on  interest  only  ?  or  on  the  will  of  the 
Supreme  Being  only,  who  hath  prescribed  such  or 
such  a  law  ?  For,  since  we  cannot  help  execrating 
a  man  who  violates  certain  laAvs,  though  the  viola- 
tion doth  not  at  all  affect  our  interest,  it  is  plain,  we 
cannot  help  acknowledging,  when  we  reflect  on  our 
own  ideas,  that  the  difference  between  a  just  and  an 
unjust  action  is  not  founded  on  interest  only.  And 
since  we  cannot  help  venerating  the  Supreme  Be- 
ing; more  when  he  follows  certain  laws  than  when 
he  violates  them,  it  is  plain,  we  cannot  help  acknow- 
ledging that  there  is  a  justice  independent  on  the 
supreme  law  which  hath  prescribed  it. 

Should  any  one  require  me  to  give  him  a  clear 
notion  of  this  justice,  this  order,  or  holiness,  which 
is  neither  founded  on  the  interest  of  him  who  obeys 
it,  nor  on  the  authority  of  the  Supreme  Being  who 
commands  it';  this  should  be  my  answer. 

By  justice  I  imderstand  that  fitness,  harmony,  or 
proportion,  which  ought  to  be  between  the  conduct 
of  an  intelligent  being,  and  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  is  placed,  and  the  relations  that  he  bears 
to  other  beings.  For  example,  there  is  a  relation 
between  a  benefactor  who  bestows,  and  an  indigent 
person  who  receives  a  benefit;  from  this  relation 
results  a  proportion,  a  harmony,  or  a  fitness  between 
benefit  and  gratitude,  which  makes  gratitude  a  vir- 
tue.    On  the  contrary,  between  benefit  and  ingrat- 


236  The  Holiness  of  God, 

itude  there  is  a  disproportion,  a  dissonance,  or  an 
incongruity,  which  makes  ingratitude  injustice.  In 
like  manner,  between  one  man,  who  is  under  op- 
pression, and  another,  who  hath  the  power  of  ter- 
minating the  oppression  by  punishing  the  oppressor, 
there  is  a  certain  relation  from  which  results  a  pro- 
portion, a  harmony,  or  a  fitness  in  relieving  the  op- 
pressed, which  makes  the  relief  an  act  of  generosity 
and     st  ice. 

All  mankind  have  a  general  notion  of  this  pro- 
portion, harmony,  or  fitness.  If  they  are  sometimes 
dubious  about  their  duty,  if  they  sometimes  hesitate 
about  the  conduct  that  justice  requires  of  them  on 
certain  occasions,  it  is  not  because  they  doubt  whe- 
ther every  action  ought  to  have  that  which  I  call 
proportion,  harmony,  oijitness  ;  but  it  is  because,  in 
some  intricate  cases,  they  do  not  clearly  perceive 
the  relation  of  a  particular  action  to  their  general 
notion  of  ustice.  Every  man  hath  an  idea  of  equal- 
ity and  inequality  of  numbers.  Every  man  knows 
at  once  to  which  of  these  two  ideas  some  plain  and 
simple  num  *ers  belong.  Every  body  perceives  at 
once  a  relation  between  the  number  three,  and  the 
idea  of  inequality :  and  every  body  perceives  in- 
stantly a  relation  between  the  number  two  and  the 
idea  of  equality.  But  should  I  propose  a  very  com- 
plex number  to  the  most  expert  arithmetician,  and 
ask  hun  to  which  of  the  two  classes  this  number  be- 
longs, he  would  requue  some  time  to  consider,  be- 
fore he  could  return  his  answer  :  not  because  he  had 
not  very  clear  ideas  of  equality  and  inequality,  but 
because  he  could  not  at  first  sight  perceive  whether 


The  Holiness  of  God.  237 

the  number  proposed  were  equal  or  unequal.  The 
arithirietician,  whom  I  have  supposed,  must  study  to 
find  out  the  relation ;  as  soon  as  he  discovers  it  he 
will  readily  answer,  and  tell  me  whether  the  number 
proposed  be  equal  or  unequal. 

Apply  this  example  to  the  subject  in  hand.  All 
mankind,  according  to  our  reasoning,  have  a  general 
notion  of  a  fitness,  that  ought  to  be  between  the  con- 
duct of  an  intelligent  being  and  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  is  placed,  and  the  relations  that  he  bears  to 
other  beings.  Always  when  a  man  perceives  that  a 
particidar  action  hath  such  a  fitness,  or  hath  it  not, 
he  will  declare  without  hesitation  that  the  action  is 
just  or  unjust.  If  he  hesitate  in  some  cases,  it  is  be- 
cause he  doth  not  perceive  the  relation  of  the  action 
in  question  to  this  fitness.  It  belongs  to  casuists  to 
solve  difficulties  of  this  kind.  I  perceive  at  once  a 
relation  between  him  who  receives  a  benefit,  and  him 
who  confers  it,  and  from  this  relation  I  conclude  that 
there  is  a  fitness  between  gratitude  and  the  circum- 
stances of  the  receiver :  therefore  I  declare,  without 
hesitating,  that  gi'atitude  is  a  virtue,  and  that  ingrati- 
tude is  a  vice.  But  should  I  be  asked  whether  it 
were  a  virtue  or  a  vice  to  kill  a  tyrant,  I  might  hesi- 
tate :  because  I  might  not  at  first  perceive  what  rela- 
tion there  is  between  the  killing  of  a  tyrant  and  the 
fitness  that  ought  to  subsist  between  the  conduct  of  a 
subject  and  his  relation  to  a  tyrant. 

Should  any  one  still  urge  me  to  give  him  clearer 
ideas  of  that  which  I  call  the  proportion,  the  harmony ^ 
or  the  Jltness  of  an  action,  I  woidd  freely  own  that  I 
rould  not  answer  his  enquiry.     But,  at  the  same 


238  The  Holiness  of  God, 

time,  I  would  declare  that  my  inability  did  not  arise 
from  the  obscurity  of  my  subject,  but  from  the  all- 
sufficiency  of  its  e\^dence.  I  would  recur  to  the 
maxim  just  now  mentioned,  that  when  a  subject  is 
placed  in  a  certain  degree  of  evidence  and  simplici- 
ty, every  thing  that  is  added  to  elucidate,  serves  only 
to  darken  and  to  perplex  it. 

Should  my  enquu*er  still  reply  that  he  had  no  idea 
of  that  which  I  call  the  proportion,  the  harmony,  or 
the  fitness  of  an  action,  I  should  consider  him  as  a 
being  of  a  species  different  from  mine,  and  I  should 
not  think  of  conversing  with  him.  There  are  some 
common  ideas,  some  maxims,  that  are  taken  for 
granted,  even  by  the  most  opposite  parties :  and 
when  those  maxims  are  disputed,  and  those  ideas  not 
admitted,  there  is  an  end  of  conversing  and  reasoning. 

This  is  a  general  notion  of  holiness.  But  the  ho- 
liness that  is  attributed  to  God,  and  prescribed  to  men 
in  the  text,  cannot  belong  in  the  same  sense,  and  in 
every  respect,  to  such  different  beings.  We  are  go- 
ing to  examine  then,  in  the  second  place,  in  what 
sense  it  agrees  to  God,  and  in  Avhat  sense  it  agrees  to 
man. 

11.  What  hath  been  said  of  holiness  in  general, 
will  serve  to  explain  in  what  sense  God  is  holy,  and 
in  what  sense  men  ought  to  be  holy.  The  general 
principle  of  holiness  is  common  to  God  and  man. 
The  general  principle  of  holiness,  as  hath  been  al- 
ready shewn,  is  a  perfect  proportion,  harmony,  or 
fitness  between  the  conduct  of  an  intelligent  being 
and  his  relations  to  other  beings.  The  holiness  of 
God  is  that  perfect  harmony,  proportioi^  or  fitness, 


The  Holiness  of  God,  239 

that  subsists  between  his  conduct  (if  I  may  be  al- 
lowed to  speak  thus  of  God)  and  his  relations  to 
other  beings.  The  holiness  of  man  consists  in  the 
same.  But  as  the  cu'cumstances  and  relations  of 
God  differ  fiom  those  of  men,  the  holiness  of  God 
and  tlie  holiness  of  men  are  of  different  kinds.  And 
it  is  tlie  difference  of  these  relations  that  we  must 
distingiush,  if  we  would  give  a  proper  answer  to 
the  questions  in  hand :  In  what  sense,  and  in  what 
respects  is  holiness  ascribed  to  God  ?  In  what  sense, 
and  in  what  respects  is  holiness  prescribed  to  men  ? 

The  first  question,  that  is.  What  relations  hath 
God  with  other  beings,  is  a  question  so  extensive, 
and  so  difficult,  that  all  human  intelligence  united 
in  one  mind,  could  not  return  a  sufficient  answer. 
We  have  been  accustomed  to  consider  our  earth  as 
the  principal  pail  of  the  universe,  and  ourselves  as 
the  most  considei-able  beings  in  nature.  Yet  our 
earth  is  only  an  atom  in  the  unbounded  space,  in 
which  it  is  placed  :  and  we  are  only  a  very  inconsid- 
erable number  in  comparison  of  the  infinite  multi- 
tude and  tlie  endless  variety  of  creatures  which  the 
gieat  Supreme  hath  niade.  There  is  an  infinite 
number  of  Angels,  Seraphims,  Cherubuns,  thrones, 
dominions,  powers,  and  other  intelligences,  of  which 
we  have  no  ideas,  and  for  which  we  have  no  names. 
God  hath  relations  to  all  these  beings,  and  on  the  na- 
ture of  those  relations  depends  the  nature  of  that  or- 
der, justice,  or  holiness,  which  he  inviolably  main- 
tains in  respect  to  them.  But  let  us  not  lose  our- 
selves in  these  immense  objects.     Let  us  only  fix  our 


240  The  Holiness  of  God. 

meditation  on  God's  relations  to  men,  and  we  shall 
form  sufficient  ideas  of  his  holiness. 

What  relation  doth  God  bear  to  us?  God  hath 
called  us  into  existence :  and  there  are  between  us 
the  relations  of  Creator  and  creature.  But  what 
harmony  do  we  think  there  ought  to  be  between  the 
conduct  of  God  to  us,  and  the  relation  that  he  bears 
to  us  of  a  Creator  to  creatures  ?  Harmony,  or  fit- 
ness, seems  to  requue,  that  God  having  brought 
creatures  into  existence,  should  provide  for  theii* 
support,  and,  having  given  them  certain  faculties, 
shoidd  require  an  account  of  the  use  that  is  made 
of  them.  This  is  the  first  idea  that  we  form  of  the 
holiness  of  God.  It  does  not  appear  to  us  fit,  or 
agreeable  to  order,  that  God,  after  having  created  in- 
tyelligent  beings,  should  abandon  them  to  themselves, 
and  not  regard  either  theu'  condition  or  their  con- 
duct. On  this  principle  we  ground  the  doctrine  of 
Providence,  and  reject  the  extravagant  system  of  the 
Epicureans. 

What  relation  doth  God  bear  to  us  ?  God  hath 
given  us  a  revelation.  He  hath  proposed  some  prin- 
ciples to  us.  Between  God  and  us  there  are  the 
relations  of  tutor  and  pupil.  But  what  fitness  do 
we  think  tliere  ought  to  be  between  the  conduct  of 
God  and  the  relation  of  a  tutor  to  a  pupil,  that  sub- 
sists between  him  and  us  ?  It  is  fit,  methinks,  that 
a  revelation  proceeding  from  God  should  be  con- 
formable to  his  own  ideas  ;  and  on  this  principle  we 
ground  the  doctrine  of  the  truth,  or,  as  the  schools 
call  it,  the  veracity  of  God,  and  maintain  with  St. 
Paul,   even  independently  on  the  authority  of  St. 


The  Holiness  of  God.  241 

Paul,  that  "  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  lie,"  Heb. 
vi.  18. 

What  relation  doth  God  bear  to  us?  God  hath 
made  a  covenant  with  us :  to  certain  conditions  in 
that  covenant  he  hath  annexed  certain  promises. 
Between  God  and  us  there  subsists  the  relations  of 
two  contracting  parties.  What  fitness  do  we  think 
there  ought  to  be  between  the  conduct  of  God  and 
that  relation  of  an  ally,'  which  he  bears  to  us  ?  We 
think  that  there  is  a  hannony,  or  a  fitness,  in  his  ful- 
filling the  articles  of  the  covenant,  and  on  this  prin- 
ciple we  ground  our  expectation  of  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  promises,  and  believe  that  "  all  the  prom- 
ises of  God  are  yea,  and  amen,"  2  Cor.  i.  20. 

What  relation  subsists  between  God  and  us  ?  God 
hath  given  us  certain  laws.  Between  God  and  us 
there  are  the  relations  of  a  law-giver  and  subjects. 
What  harmony,  do  we  think,  there  ought  to  be  be- 
tween the  conduct  of  God  and  the  relation  of  a  le- 
gislator to  a  subject  ?  We  think,  harmony  requires 
that  the  laws  prescribed  to  us  should  be  proportion- 
al to  our  ability ;  that  nothing  should  be  requh'ed 
of  us  beyond  our  natural  power,  or  the  supernatural 
assistances  that  he  affords :  and  on  this  principle  we 
reject  a  cruel  system  of  divinity,  more  likely  to  tar- 
nish than  to  display  the  glory  of  the  Supreme  Being: 
on  this  principle  we  say  with  St.  .Tajiies,  "  If  any  of 
you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  givcth 
to  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not,"  Jam.  i.  12. 
on  this  principle  we  say  with  St.  Paul,  that  "  as 
many  as  have  sinned  witliout  law,  shall  also  perish 
without  law  :  and  as  many  as  Jiaye  sinned  in  the 

VOL.   I.  31 


242  The  Holiness  of  God. 

law,  shnll  be  judged  by  the  law,"  Rom.  ii.  12.  Fol- 
low this  train  of  reasoning,  my  brethren,  reflect  on 
the  other  relations  that  God  bears  to  mankind,  ex- 
amine, as  far  as  ye  are  capable  of  examining,  the 
harmony  that  subsists  between  the  conduct  of  God 
and  those  relations,  and  the  farther  ye  proceed  in 
meditations  of  this  kind,  the  more  just,  and  the 
more  enlarged  will  be  your  ideas  of  the  holiness  of 
God. 

But  perhaps  some  may  accuse  me  of  taking  that 
for  granted  which  remains  to  be  proved,  and  of 
grounding  my  whole  system  of  the  holiness  of  God 
on  a  disputed  principle,  the  truth  of  which  I  have 
not  yet  demonstrated  :  that  is,  that  there  doth  sub- 
sist such  a  perfect  harmony  or  fitness  between  the 
conduct  of  God  and  his  relations  to  men.  Perhaps 
I  may  be  asked  for  the  proofs  of  this  principle,  the 
ground  of  my  whole  s}  stem,  for  if  the  principle  be 
doubtful,  the  whole  system  is  hypothetical,  and  if  it 
be  false  the  system  falls  of  itself.  I  answer,  my 
brethren,  that  we  have  as  strong  and  demonstrative 
evidence  of  the  holiness  of  God  as  it  is  possible  for 
finite  creatures  to  have  of  the  attributes  of  an  infi- 
nite Being.  We  may  derive  sound  notions  of  the 
conduct  of  God  from  three  different  sources,  each 
of  which  w  ill  prove  that  a  perfect  harmony  subsists 
between  the  conduct  of  God  and  his  relations  to  us, 
and  ail  together  will  fully  convince  us  that  God  pos- 
sesseth  in  the  most  eminent  degree  such  a  holiness 
as  V.  e  have  described. 

1.  We  shall  be  fully  convinced  that  God  posses- 
seth  this  holiness  if  we  regulate  our  ideas  of  his  con- 


The  Holiness  of  God.  243 

duct  by  our  notion  of  his  nature.  Let  me  beg  leave 
to  remark,  to  tliose  who  have  been  accustomed  to 
arsjue,  that  1  do  not  mean  here  an  imaginary  notion 
of  God,  like  that  which  some  divines  and  some  phi- 
losophers have  laid  down  as  the  ground  of  their  ar- 
guments. They  begin  by  supposing  a  perfect  be- 
ing :  then  they  examine  what  agrees  with  a  perfect 
being :  and  that  they  attribute  to  God.  This  is 
their  argument ;  "  Holiness  is  an  attribute  of  a  per- 
fect being  :  God  is  a  perfect  being :  Therefore  holi- 
ness is  an  attribute  of  God,"  VYe  do  not  at  present 
use  this  method.  I  suppose  myself  suddenly  placed 
in  this  world,  surrounded  with  a  variety  of  creatures. 
I  do  not  suppose  that  there  is  a  holy  Supreme  Be- 
ing :  but  I  enquire  whether  there  be  one  :  and  in 
this  manner  I  obtain  a  full  demonstration.  My 
knowledge  of  creatures  produceth  the  notion  of  a 
Creator.  My  notion  of  a  Creator  is  complex,  and 
includes  in  it  the  ideas  of  a  grand,  infinite,  almighty 
Being.  But  the  notion  of  a  Being,  who  is  grand, 
infinite,  and  almighty,  includes  in  it,  I  think,  the 
idea  of  a  holy  Being.  At  least,  I  cannot  perceive,  in 
this  Being,  any  of  the  principles  that  tempt  men  to 
violate  the  laws  of  order.  Men  sometimes  trans- 
gress the  laws  of  order  through  ignorance  :  but  the 
grand,  the  mighty,  the  infinite  Being  thoroughly 
understands  the  harmony  that  ought  to  subsist  be- 
tween the  laws  of  order  and  the  most  difficult  and 
most  complicated  action.  Men  sometimes  violate 
the  laws  of  order  because  the  solicitations  of  their 
senses  prevail  over  the  rational  deliberations  of 
their  minds :  but  the  great,  the  powerful,  the  infi- 


244  The  HMness  of  God, 

nite  Being  is  not  subject  to  a  revolution  of  animal 
spirits,  an  irregular  motion  of  blood,  or  an  inunda- 
tion of  bodily  humours.  Men  sometimes  violate 
the  laws  of  order  because  they  are  seduced  by  a 
present  and  sensible  interest :  But  this  principle  of 
a  violation  of  the  laws  of  order  can  have  no  place 
in  God.  The  great,  the  mighty,  the  infinite  Be- 
ing can  have  no  interest  in  deceiving  such  contemp- 
tible creatures  as  we.  If  then  we  judge  of  the  con- 
duct of  God  by  the  idea  that  we  are  obliged  to  form 
of  his  nature,  we  shall  be  convinced  of  his  perfect 
holiness. 

2.  We  may  be  convinced  of  the  holiness  of  God 
by  the  testimony  that  God  himself  hath  given  of  his 
attributes.  The  testimony  that  God  hath  given  of 
himself  is  the  most  credible  testimony  that  we  can 
obtain.  And  how  doth  he  represent  himself  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures  ?  He  describes  himself  every  where 
as  a  Holy  Being,  and  as  a  pattern  of  holiness  to  us. 
He  describes  himself  surrounded  with  happy  spirits, 
^vho  perpetually  cry,  "  Holy,  Holy,  Holy,  Lord 
of  Hosts." 

3.  God  will  appear  supremely  holy  to  you  if  ye 
judge  by  his  works.  Behold  the  works  of  nature, 
they  proclaim  the  perfect  holiness  of  God.  Consult 
that  work  of  nature,  your  own  heart :  that  heart, 
all  corrupt  as  it  is,  yet  retains  some  faint  traces  of 
the  holiness  of  God,  who  created  it ;  so  that  in  spite 
of  its  natural  depravity,  it  still  does  homage  to  vir- 
tue:  it  resembles  a  palace,  which,  having  been  at 
first  built  with  magnificence  and  art,  hath  been  mis^ 
erably  plundered  and  destroyed,  but  which  yet  re- 


^he  Holiness  of  God.  245 

tains,  amidst  all  its  ruins,  some  vestiges  of  its  an- 
cient grandeur.  Behold  society,  tliat  work  of  prov- 
idence publisheth  the  supreme  holiness  of  God. 
God  hath  so  formed  society  that  it  is  happy  or  mis- 
erable in  the  same  proportion  as  it  practiseth,  or 
neglecteth  virtue.  Above  all,  behold  the  work  of 
religion.  What  say  the  precepts,  the  precedents, 
the  penalties  of  religion  ?  IMore  especially,  wliat 
saith  the  grand  mystery  of  religion,  that  mystery 
which  is  the  scope,  the  substance,  the  end  of  all  the 
other  mysteries  of  religion,  I  mean  the  mystery  of 
the  cross  ?  Doth  it  not  declare  that  God  is  supreme- 
ly holy  ? 

We  have  seen  then  in  what  respects  holiness  be- 
longs to  God,  and  by  pursuing  the  same  principles^ 
we  may  discover  in  what  respects  it  belongs  to  men. 
Consider  the  circumstances  in  which  men  are  placed, 
and  what  relation  they  bear  to  other  beings  :  Con- 
sider what  harmony  there  ought  to  be  between  the 
conduct  of  men  and  their  relations  :  and  ye  will 
form  a  just  notion  of  tlie  holiness  that  men  are  com- 
manded to  practise.  There  is  the  relation  of  a  sub- 
ject to  his  prince,  and  the  subject's  submission  is 
the  harmony  of  that  relation  :  in  this  respect  it  is 
the  holiness  of  a  man  to  submit  to  his  prince.  There 
is  the  relation  of  a  child  to  his  parent,  and  there  is 
a  harmony  between  the  conduct  and  the  relation  of 
the  child  when  he  loves  and  obeys  his  parent :  Love 
and  obedience  to  the  parent  constitute  the  holiness 
of  the  child. 

The  principal  relation  of  a  man  is  that  which  he 
bears  to  God.     Man  stands  in  the  relation  of  a  crea- 


246  The  Holiness  of  God. 

lure  to  God,  who  is  his  Creator :  and  the  conduct 
of  a  creature  is  in  harmony  with  his  relation  when 
the  will  of  his  Creator  is  the  rule  of  his  actions : 
The  revealed  will  of  God  then  must  regulate  the 
will  of  man.  Order  requires  us  to  submit  ourselves 
to  him  of  whom  we  have  received  all  that  we  enjoy : 
All  our  enjoyments  come  from  God :  from  him  we 
derive  "  life,  motion,  and  existence,"  Acts  xvii. 
28,  It  is  impossible  then  to  resist  his  will  with- 
out violating  the  laws  of  order.  Our  future  pros- 
pects, as  Avell  as  our  present  enjoyments,  proceed 
from  God :  our  own  interest  demands  then,  that  we 
should  submit  to  his  will,  in  order  to  a  participation 
of  future  favours,  which  are  the  objects  of  our  pres- 
ent hopes. 

We  have  seen  then  in  what  respects  holiness  be- 
longs to  God,  and  in  what  respects  it  belongs  to  men. 
But  although  holiness  does  not  belong,  in  the  same 
sense,  and  in  every  respect,  to  beings  so  different  as 
God  and  man,  yet  the  holiness  of  God  ought  to  be 
both  a  reason  and  a  rule  for  the  holiness  of  man. 
"  Ye  shall  be  holy,  for  I  the  Lord  your  God  am  ho- 
ly.^'' This  is  our  third  part,  and  with  this  we  shall 
conclude  the  discourse, 

III.  The  holiness  of  God,  we  say,  is  both  a  rule 
and  a  reason  for  the  holiness  of  man.  The  words 
of  the  text  include  both  these  ideas,  and  will  bear  ei- 
ther sense.  They  may  be  rendered,  "  Be  ye  holy 
as  I  am  holy :"  and,  according  to  this  translation,  the 
lioliness  of  God  is  a  rule  or  a  model  of  ours.  Or, 
they  may  be  rendered,  "  Ye  shall  be  holy,  because 
I  am  holy :"  and,  according  to  this,  the  holiness  of 


The  Holiness  of  God.  247 

6od  is  a  reason  or  a  motive  of  our  holiness.  It  is  not 
necessary  now  to  enquire  which  of  these  two  inter- 
pretations is  the  best.  Let  us  unite  both.  Let  us 
make  the  holiness  of  Gocl  the  pattern  of  our  holiness: 
and  let  us  also  make  it  the  motive  of  ours. 

1.  Let  us  make  the  holiness  of  God  the  model  of 
GUI'S.  "  The  holiness  of  God  is  complete  in  its  parts." 
He  hath  all  vulues,  or  rather  he  hath  one  vktue  that 
includes  all  others :  that  is,  the  love  of  order.  He 
is  equally  just  in  his  laws,  true  in  his  language,  his 
promises  are  faithful,  and  his  thoughts  are  right.  Let 
this  holiness  be  our  pattern,  "  Be  ye  holy  as  God  is 
holy."  Let  us  not  confine  ourselves  to  one  single 
virtue.  Let  us  incorporate  them  all  into  our  system. 
Let  us  have  an  assortment  of  Christian  graces.  Let 
us  be,  if  I  may  express  myself  so,  complete  Chris- 
tians. Let  us  "  add  to  our  faith  vutue,  and  to  vir- 
tue knowledge,  and  to  knowledge  temperance,  and 
to  temperance  patience,  and  to  patience  godliness, 
and  to  godliness  brotherly  kindness,  and  to  brotherly 
kindness  charity,"  2  Pet.  i.  5,  6,  7. 

2.  The  holiness  of  God  is  infinite  in  its  degrees. 
Nothing  can  confine  its  activity.  Let  this  be  our 
model,  as  far  as  a  finite  creature  can  imitate  an  in- 
finite Being.  Let  us  not  rest  in  a  narrow  sphere  of 
virtue,  but  let  us  carry  every  virtue  to  its  most  emi- 
nent degree  of  attainment.  Let  us  every  day  make 
some  new  progress.  Let  us  reckon  all  that  we  have 
done  nothing,  while  there  remains  any  thing  more  to 
do.  Let  each  of  us  say  with  St.  Paul,  "  I  count  not 
myself  to  have  apprehended:  but  this  one  thing  I 
do,   forgetting  those  things  which  are  beliind,   and 


248  The  Holiness  of  God. 

reaching  fortli  unto  those  things  which  are  before,  I 
press  toward  the  mark,"  Phil.  iii.  13. 

3.  The  holiness  of  God  is  pure  in  its  motives.  He 
fears  nothing,  he  hopes  for  nothing ;  yet  he  is  holy- 
He  knows,  he  loves,  he  pursues  holiness.  This  is 
the  whole  system  of  his  morality.  Let  this  be  our 
pattern.  We  do  not  mean  to  exclude  the  grand 
motives  of  hope  and  fear,  which  religion  hath  sanc- 
tified, and  which  have  such  a  mighty  influence  over 
beings  capable  of  happiness  or  misery.  But  yet,  let 
not  our  inclinations  to  virtue  necessarily  depend  on 
a  display  of  the  horrors  of  hell,  or  the  happiness  of 
heaven.  Disinterestedness  of  virtue  is  the  charac- 
ter of  true  magnanimity,  and  Christian  heroism.  Let 
us  esteem  it  a  pleasure  to  obey  the  laws  of  order. 
Let  us  account  it  a  pleasure  to  be  generous,  benefi- 
cent, and  communicative.  Let  us  lend,  agreeably 
to  the  maxim  of  Jesus  Christ,  hoping  for  nothing 
again,  Luke  vi.  35.  and,  in  imitation  of  his  example, 
let  us  la]/  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren,  1  John  iii.  16. 

4.  The  holiness  of  God  is  uniform  in  its  action. 
No  appearance  deceives  him,  no  temptation  shakes 
him,  nothing  dazzles  or  diverts  him.  Let  this  be 
our  example.  Let  us  not  be  every  day  changing 
our  religion  and  morality.  Let  not  our  ideas  de- 
pend on  the  motion  of  our  animal  spirits,  the  cir- 
culation of  our  blood,  or  the  irregular  course  of  the 
humours  of  our  bodies.  Let  us  not  be  carried  about 
with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  Eph.  iv.  14.  Let  us  not 
be  Christians  at  church  only,  on  our  solemn  festi- 
vals alone,  or  at  the  approach  of  death.  Let  our 
conduct  be  uniform  and  firm,  and  let  us  say,  with 


The  Holiness  of  God.  249 

the  prophet,  even  in  our  greatest  trials,  Yet  God  is 
good  to  Israel,  Ps.  Ixiii.  1.  However  it  be,  I  will 
endeavour  to  be  as  humble  on  the  pinnacle  of  gran- 
deur, as  if  Providence  had  placed  me  in  the  lowest 
and  meanest  post.  I  will  be  as  moderate,  when  all 
the  objects  of  my  wishes  are  within  my  reach,  as  if 
I  could  not  afford  to  procure  them.  I  will  be  as 
ready  to  acquiesce  in  the  supreme  will  of  God,  if 
he  conduct  me  through  various  adversities,  and 
through  "  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,"  as  if 
he  led  me  through  prosperities,  and  filled  me  with 
delights.  Thus  the  holiness  of  God  must  be  the 
model  of  ours :  "  Be  ye  holy  as  I  am  holy." 

But  the  holiness  of  God  must  also  be  the  reason 
or  motive  of  ours ;  and  we  must  be  holy  because 
God  is  holy  :  "  Ye  shall  be  holy,  for  I  the  Lord 
your  God  arn  holy." 

We  groan  under  the  disorders  of  our  nature,  we 
lament  the  loss  of  that  blessed  but  short  state  of  in- 
nocence, in  which  the  first  man  was  created,  and 
which  we  wish  to  recover :  "  We  must  be  holy  then, 
for  the  Lord  our  God  is  holy."  The  beauty  and 
blessedness  of  man  in  his  primitive  state  consisted 
in  his  immediate  creation  by  the  hand  of  God,  and 
in  the  bearing  of  his  Creator's  image,  which  was 
impressed,  in  a  most  lively  manner,  upon  his  mind. 
Sin  hath  defaced  that  image,  and  our  happiness 
consists  in  its  restoration :  that  is,  in  our  being  "  re- 
newed after  the  image  of  him  who  created  us,"  Col. 
iii.  10. 

We  wish  to  enjoy  the  favour  of  God :  we  must 
be  holy  then,  "  because  the  Lord  our  God  is  holy." 

VOL.  I.  32 


250  The  Holiness  of  God, 

They  are  "  our  iniquities  that  have  separated  be- 
tween us  and  our  God :"  Isa.  lix.  2.  And  it  is  lioli- 
ness  that  must  conciliate  a  communion  which  our 
sins  have  interrupted. 

We  tremble  to  see  all  nature  at  war  with  us,  and 
wish  to  be  reconciled  to  all  the  exterior  objects,  that 
conspire  to  torment  us  ;  we  must  be  holy  then,  "  be- 
cause the  Lord  our  God  is  holy."  Sin  is  a  hateful 
object  to  a  holy  God.  Sin  hath  armed  every  crea- 
ture against  man.  Sin  hath  thrown  all  nature  into 
confusion.  Sin,  by  disconcerting  the  mind,  hath 
destroyed  the  body.  It  is  sin  that  hath  brought 
death  into  the  world,  and  "  the  sting  of  death  is 
sin." 

We  w^ish  to  be  reconciled  to  ourselves,  and  to 
possess  that  inward  peace  and  tranquility,  without 
which  no  exterior  objects  can  make  us  happy :  we 
must  be  holy  then,  "  because  the  Lord  our  God  is 
holy."  We  have  remarked,  in  this  discourse,  that 
God,  -who  is  an  independent  being,  loves  virtue  for 
its  own  sake,  independently  on  the  rewards  that  ac- 
company and  follow  it.  Nevertheless,  it  is  very 
certain  that  the  felicity  of  God  is  inseparable  from 
his  holiness,  God  is  the  happy  God,  because  he  is 
the  holy  God.  God,  in  the  contemplation  of  his 
own  excellencies,  hath  an  inexhaustible  source  of 
felicity.  Were  it  possible  for  God  not  to  be  su- 
premely holy,  it  would  be  possible  for  God  not  to 
be  supremely  happy.  Yes,  God,  all  glorious  and 
supreme  as  he  is,  v/ould  be  miserable,  if  he  w^ere 
subject,  like  unholy  spirits,  to  the  turbulent  commo- 
tions of  envv  or  hatred,  treacliery  or  deceit.     From 


The  Holiness  of  God.  251 

such  passions  would  arise  odious  vapours,  which 
would  gather  into  thick  clouds,  and,  by  obscur- 
ing his  glory,  impair  his  felicity.  Even  heaven 
would  afford  but  imperfect  pleasure,  if  those  infer- 
nal furies  could  there  kindle  their  unhallowed  flames. 
The  same  reasoning  holds  good  on  eaiili ;  for,  it  im- 
plies a  contradiction,  to  affirm  that  we  can  be  happy, 
while  the  operations  of  our  minds  clash  with  one  an- 
other :  and  it  is  equally  absurd,  to  suppose  that  the 
Almighty  God  can  teraiinate  the  fatal  war,  the  tragi- 
cal field  of  which  is  the  human  heart,  without  the 
re-establishing  of  the  dominion  of  holiness. 

We  desire  to  experience  the  most  close  and  ten- 
der communion  with  God,  next  Lord's  day,  in  re- 
ceiving the  holy  sacrament:  Let  us  be  holy  then, 
"  because  the  Lord  our  God  is  holy."  This  august 
ceremony  may  be  considered  in  several  points  of 
view :  and  one  of  them  deserves  a  peculiar  attention. 
The  table  of  the  Lord's  supper  hath  been  compared, 
by  some,  to  that  which  was  formerly  set,  by  the 
command  of  God,  in  the  holy  place :  I  mean,  the  ta- 
ble of  shew  bread,  or  bread  of  the  jiresence,  Ex.  xxv. 
30.  God  commanded  Moses  to  set  twelve  loaves 
upon  the  table,  to  change  them  every  sabbath,  and 
to  give  those  that  w^ere  taken  away  to  the  priests, 
who  were  to  eat  them  in  the  holy  place.  Lev.  xxiv.  6, 
&-C.  What  was  the  end  of  these  ceremonial  institu- 
tions ?  The  tabernacle  at  first  was  considered  as  the 
tent,  and  the  temple  afterward  as  the  palace  of  the 
Deity,  who  dwelt  among  the  Israelites.  In  the  pa- 
lace of  God,  it  was  natural  to  expect  a  table  for  the 
use  of  him  and  his  attendants.    This  w^as  one  of  the 


252  The  Holiness  of  God. 

most  glorious  privileges  that  the  Israelites  enjoyed, 
and  one  of  the  most  august  symbols  of  the  presence 
of  God  among  them.  God  and  all  the  people  of 
Israel,  in  the  persons  of  their  ministers,  were  ac- 
counted to  eat  the  same  bread.  The  heathens,  strick- 
en with  the  beauty  of  these  ideas,  incorporated  them 
into  their  theology.  They  adopted  the  thought,  and 
set,  in  their  temples,  tables  consecrated  to  their  gods. 
The  prophet  Isaiah  reproacheth  the  Jews  with  forsak- 
ing the  Lord,  forgetting  his  holy  mountain,  and  pre- 
paring a  table  for  the  host  of  heaven,  Isa.  Ixv.  2. 
And  Ezekiel  reckons  among  the  virtues  of  a  just 
man,  that  he  had  not  eaten  upon  the  mountains,  Ez. 
xviii.  6.  It  was  upon  tables  of  this  kind  that  idol- 
aters sometimes  ate  the  remains  of  those  victims 
which  they  had  sacrificed  to  their  gods.  This  they 
called  eating  with  gods;  and  Homer  introduceth 
Alcinous  saying,  "  The  gods  visit  us,  when  we  sa- 
crifice hecatombs,  and  sit  down  with  us  at  the  same 
table." 

This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  notions,  under 
which  we  can  consider  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
supper.  There  we  eat  with  God.  God  sitteth 
down  with  us  at  the  same  table,  and  so  causeth  us 
to  experience  the  meaning  of  this  promise,  "  Be- 
hold, I  stand  at  the  door,  and  knock ;  if  any  man 
hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in 
to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  me," 
Rev.  iii.  20.  But  what  do  such  close  connections 
with  a  holy  God  require  of  us  ?  They  require  us  to 
be  holy.  They  cry  to  us,  as  the  voice  cried  to 
Moses  from  the  midst  of  the  burning  bush,  "  Draw 


The  Holiness  of  God.  253 

not  nigh  hither  ;  put  of!*  thy  shoes  from  off  ihy  feet ; 
for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground." 
Ex.  iii.  5. 

God  is  supremely  holy :  God  supremely  loveth 
order.  Order  requires  you  to  leave  vengeance  to 
God,  to  pardon  your  bitterest,  and  most  professed 
enemies;  and  what  is  more  difficult  still,  order  re- 
quires you  to  pardon  your  most  subtle  and  secret 
foes.  Would  ye  approach  the  table  of  a  holy  God 
gnavvn  with  a  spirit  of  animosity,  hatred,  or  ven- 
geance ? 

God  is  supremely  holy  :  God  supremely  loveth 
order.  Order  requires  you  to  dedicate  a  part  of 
those  blessings  to  charity,  with  which  Providence 
hath  entrusted  you;  to  retrench  the  superfluities 
of  your  tables,  in  order  to  enable  you  to  assist  the 
starving  and  dying  poor.  Would  ye  approach  the 
table  of  a  holy  God  with  hearts  hardened  with  in- 
difference to  that  poor  man  whom  God  hath  com- 
manded you  to  love  as  yourselves  ? 

God  is  supremely  holy :  God  supremely  loveth 
order.  Order  requires  you  to  be  affected  with  the 
tokens  of  divine  love.  All  are  displayed  at  the 
Lord's  table.  There  the  bloody  history  of  your 
Redeemer's  sufferings  is  again  exhibited  to  view. 
There  the  blood,  that  Christ  the  victim  shed  for 
your  crimes,  flows  afresh.  There  God  recounts  all 
the  mysteries  of  the  cross.  Would  ye  approach 
that  table  cold  and  languishing  ?  Would  ye  ap- 
proach that  table  without  returning  to  Jesus  Christ 
love  for  love,  and  tenderness  for  tenderness  ?  Would 
ye  approach  that  table  void  of  every  sentiment  and 


254  The  Holiness  of  God. 

emotion,  Avbich  tlie  venerable  symbols  of  the  love 
of  God  must  needs  produce  in  every  honest  heart  ? 
Ah  !  my  brethren,  were  ye  to  approach  the  table 
of  Jesus  Christ  without  these  dispositions,  ye  would 
come,  not  like  St.  John,  or  St.  Peter,  but,  like  Ju- 
das. This  would  not  be  to  receive  an  earnest  of 
salvation,  but  to  "  eat  and  drink  your  own  damna- 
tion," 1  Cor.  xi.  29.  This  would  not  be  to  receive 
the  body  of  Jesus  Christ :  this  would  be  to  surren- 
der yourselves  to  Satan. 

I  can  hardly  allow^  myself  to  entertain  such  mel- 
ancholy thoughts.  Come  to  the  table  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  enter  into  a  closer  communion  with  a 
holi/  God.  Come  and  devote  yourselves  entirely  to 
the  service  of  a  holj/  God.  Come  and  arranoe  the 
operations  of  your  minds  by  the  perfections  of  a  ha- 
ll/ God.  Come  and  diminish  the  grief,  that  ye  feel, 
because,  in  spite  of  all  your  endeavours  to  be  Ao/y 
as  God  is  holy,  ye  are  so  far  inferior  to  his  glorious 
example.  But,  at  the  same  time,  come  and  receive 
fresh  assurances,  that  ye  are  formed  for  a  more  per- 
fect period  of  holiness.  Come  and  receive  the  pro- 
mises of  God,  who  will  assure  you,  that  ye  shall 
one  day  see  him  as  he  is,  and  he  like  him  1  .lohn  iii. 
2.  May  God  grant  us  this  blessing  !  To  him  be  hon- 
our and  glory  forever.     Amen. 


SERMON  ^71. 

The  Compassion  of  God. 

Psalm  ciii.  13. 

Like  as  a  father  piiieih  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
jriticth  them  that  fear  him. 

Among  many  frivolous  excuses,  which  mankind 
have  invented  to  exculpate  their  barrenness  under 
a  gospel-ministrr,  there  is  one  that  deserves  respect. 
Why,  say  they,  do  ye  address  men  as  if  they  were 
destitute  of  the  sentiments  of  humanity  ?  Why  do 
ye  treat  Christians  like  slaves  ?  Why  do  ye  per- 
petually urge,  in  your  preaching,  motives  of  wrath, 
vengeance,  the  norm  that  never  dies,  the  fire  that 
is  never  quenched  ?  Isa.  Ixvi.  24.  Motives  of  this 
kind  fill  the  heart  with  rebellion  instead  of  con- 
ciliating it  by  love.  Mankind  have  a  fund  of  sen- 
sibility and  tenderness.  Let  the  tender  motives 
that  our  legislator  hath  diffused  throughout  our 
Bibles,  be  pressed  upon  us ;  and  then  every  sermon 
would  produce  some  conversions,  and  your  com- 
plaints of  Christians  would  cease  with  the  causes 
that  produce  them. 

I  call  this  excuse  frivolous :  for  how  iittle  must 
we  know  of  human  nature,  to  suppose  men  so  very 
sensible  to  the  attractives  of  religion  !  Where  is  the 
minister  of  the  gospel,  who  hath  not  displayed  the 


256  The  Compassion  of  God. 

charms  of  religion  a  thousand,  and  a  thousand  times, 
and  displayed  them  in  vain  ?  Some  souls  must  be 
terrified,  some  sinners  must  be  saved  hij  fear,  and 
pulled  out  of  the  fire,  Jude  23.  There  are  some 
hearts  that  are  sensible  to  only  one  object  in  reli- 
gion, that  is  hell ;  and,  if  any  way  remain  to  pre- 
vent their  actual  destruction  hereafter,  it  is  to  over- 
whelm their  souls  with  the  present  fear  of  it :  "know- 
ing therefore  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  we  persuade 
men." 

Yet,  however  frivolous  this  pretext  may  appear, 
there  is  a  something  in  it  that  merits  respect.  I  am 
pleased  to  see  those  men,  who  have  not  been  asham- 
ed to  say  that  the  Lord's  yoke  is  intolerable,  driven 
to  abjure  so  odious  a  system :  I  love  to  hear  them 
acknowledge,  that  religion  is  supported  by  motives 
fitted  to  ingenuous  minds ;  and  that  the  God  from 
whom  it  proceeds,  hath  discovered  so  much  be- 
nevolence and  love  in  the  gift,  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble not  to  be  affected  with  it,  if  we  be  capable  of 
feeling. 

I  cannot  tell,  my  brethren,  whether  among  these 
Christians,  whom  the  holiness  of  this  day  hath  as- 
sembled in  this  sacred  place,  there  be  many,  who 
have  availed  themselves  of  the  frivolous  pretence 
just  now  mentioned;  and  who  have  sometimes  wick- 
edly determined  to  despise  eternal  torments,  under 
an  extravagant  pretence  that  the  ministers  of  the 
gospel  too  often  preach,  and  too  dismally  describe 
them.  But,  without  requiring  your  answer  to  so 
mortifying  a  question,  without  endeavouring  to  make 
you  contradict  yourselves,  we  invite  you  to  behold 


The  Compasnon  of  God.  257 

those  attractives  to-day,  to  which  ye  boast  of  being 
go  very  sensible.  Come  and  see  the  Supreme  Le- 
gislator, to  whom  we  would  devote  your  services ; 
behold  him,  not  as  an  aven2;ing  God,  not  as  a  con- 
suming God,  not  shaking  the  earth,  and  overturning 
the  mountains  in  his  anger,  .lob  ix.  4,  5.  not  thunder- 
ing in  the  heavens,  shooting  out  lightnings,  or  giving 
his  voice  in  hailstones  and  coals  of  Jive,  Psa.  xviii.  13, 
14.  but  putting  on  such  tender  emotions  for  you  as 
ye  feel  for  your  children.  In  this  light  the  prophet 
places  him  in  the  text  and  in  this  light  we  are  going 
to  place  him  in  this  discourse. 

O  ye  marble  hearts !  so  often  insensible  to  the  ter- 
rors of  our  ministry;  may  God  compel  you  to-day 
to  feel  its  attracting  promises !  O  ye  marble  hearts ! 
against  which  the  edge  of  the  sword  of  the  Almigh- 
ty's avenging  justice  hath  been  so  often  blunted;  the 
Lord  grant  that  ye  may  be  this  day  dissolved  by  the 
energy  of  his  love !  Amen. 

"  Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  doth  the 
Lord  pity  them  that  fear  him."  Before  w^e  attempt 
to  explain  the  text,  we  must  premise  one  remark, 
which  is  generally  granted,  when  it  is  proposed  in  a 
vague  manner,  and  almost  as  generally  denied  in  its 
consequences :  that  is,  that  the  most  complete  notion 
which  we  can  form  of  a  divine  attribute,  is  to  sup- 
pose it  in  perfect  harmony  w  ith  every  other  divine 
attribute. 

The  most  lovely  idea  that  we  can  form  of  the 
Deity,  afid  which,  at  the  same  time,  is  the  most  solid 
ground  of  our  faith  in  his  word,  and  of  our  confi- 
dence in  the  performance  of  his  promises,  is  that 

VOL.  I.  33 


258  The  Compassion  of  God, 

which  represents  him  as  an  unifonn  being,  whose  at- 
tributes harmonize,  and  who  is  always  consistent 
with  himself.  There  is  no  greater  character  of  im- 
perfection in  any  intelligent  being  than  the  want  of 
this  harmony  :  when  one  of  his  attributes  opposeth 
another  of  his  attributes ;  when  the  same  attribute 
opposeth  itself;  when  his  wisdom  is  not  supported 
by  his  power ;  or  when  his  power  is  not  directed  by 
his  wisdom. 

This  character  of  imperfection,  essential  to  all 
creatures,  ]s  the  ground  of  those  prohibitions  that 
we  meet  with  in  the  holy  scriptures,  in  regard  to 
the  objects  of  our  trust.  "  Put  not  your  trust  in 
princes,  nor  in  the  son  of  man  in  whom  there  is  no 
help.  His  breath  goeth  forth,  he  returneth  to  his 
earth,  in  that  very  day  his  thoughts  perish,"  Psa. 
cxlvi.  3,  4.  "  Cursed  be  the  man  that  trusteth  in 
man,  and  maketh  flesh  his  arm,"  Jer.  xvii.  5.  Why  ? 
Because  it  is  not  safe  to  confide  in  man,  imless  he 
have  such  a  harmony  of  attributes,  as  we  have  just 
now  described ;  and  because  no  man  hath  such  a 
harmony.  His  power  may  assist  you,  but,  un- 
less he  have  wisdom  to  direct  his  power,  the  very 
means  that  he  would  use  to  make  you  happy, 
would  make  you  miserable.  Even  his  power  would 
not  harmonize  with  itself,  in  regard  to  you,  if  it 
were  sufficient  to  supply  your  wants  to-day,  but 
not  to-morrow.  That  man,  that  prince,  that  mortal, 
to  whom  thou  givest  the  superb  titles  of  Potentate, 
Monarch,  Arbiter  of  peace,  and  Arbiter  of  war; 
that  mortal  who  is  alive  to-day,  will  die  to-morrow, 
the  breath  that    animates  him  will  evaporate,    lie 


The  Compassion  of  God.  259 

will  return  to  his  earth,  and  all  his  kind  regards  for 
thee  will  vanish  with  him. 

But  the  perfections  of  God  are  in  perfect  harmo- 
ny. This  truth  shall  guide  us  through  this  dis- 
course, and  shall  arrange  its  parts  :  And  this  is  the 
likeliest  way  that  we  can  tliink  of,  to  preserve  the 
dignity  of  our  subject,  to  avoid  its  numerous  diffi- 
culties, to  preclude  such  fatal  inferences  as  our 
weak  and  wicked  passions  have  been  too  well  ac- 
customed to  draw  from  the  subject,  and  to  verify 
the  prophet's  proposition  in  its  noblest  meaning, 
"  Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  doth  the 
Lord  pity  them  that  fear  him." 

Would  ye  form  a  just  notion  of  the  goodness  of 
God,  (for  the  original  term,  that  our  translators 
have  rendered  pity,  is  equivocal,  and  is  used  in  this 
vague  sense  in  the  holy  scriptures.)  Would  ye 
form  a  just  notion  of  the  goodness  of  God  ?  Then, 
conceive  a  perfection  that  is  always  in  harmony 
with, 

I.  The  spirituality  of  his  essence. 

II.  The  inconceivableness  of  his  nature. 
in.  The  holiness  of  his  designs. 

lY.  The  independence  of  his  principles. 

V.  The  immutability  of  his  will. 

VI.  The  efficacy  of  his  power.     But  above  all, 
YII.  With  the  veracity  of  his  word. 

1.  The  goodness  of  God  must  agree  with  the  spi- 
rituality  of  his  essence.  Compassion,  among  men, 
is  that  mechanical  emotion,  which  is  produced  in 
them  by  the  sight  of  distressed  objects.  I  allow 
that  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator  is  very  much  dis- 


260  The  Compassion  of  God, 

played  in  uniting  us  together  in  such  a  manner. 
Ideas  of  fitness  seldom  make  much  impression  on 
the  bulk  of  mankind  ;  it  was  necessary  therefore  to 
make  sensibility  supply  the  want  of  reflection,  and, 
by  a  counter-blow,  with  which  the  miseries  of  a 
neighbour  strike  our  feelings,  to  produce  a  dispo- 
sition in  us  to  relieve  him.  Nature  produceth  but 
few  monsters,  who  regale  themselves  on  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  wretched.  Here,  or  there,  hath  been  a 
Phalaris,  who  hath  delighted  his  ears  with  the  shrieks 
of  a  fellow-creature  burnin«:  in  a  brazen  bull :  And 
some,  whose  minds  were  filled  with  ideas  of  a  reli- 
gion more  barbarous  and  inhuman  than  that  of  the 
Bacchanalians,  have  been  pleased  with  tormenting 
those  victims,  which  they  sacrificed  not  to  God,  the 
father  of  mankind,  but  to  him  who  is  their  murder- 
er :  But  none,  except  people  of  these  kinds,  have 
been  able  to  eradicate  those  emotions  of  pity,  with 
which  a  wise  and  compassionate  God  hath  formed 
them. 

But  this  sensibility  degenerates  into  folly,  when 
it  is  not  supported  by  ideas  of  order,  and  when  me- 
chanical emotions  prevail  over  the  rational  dictates 
of  the  mind.  It  is  a  weakness,  it  is  not  a  love  wor- 
thy of  an  intelligent  being,  that  inclines  a  tender 
mother  to  pull  back  the  arm  of  him,  w^ho  is  about 
to  perform  a  violent,  but  a  salutary  operation  on 
the  child  w^hom  she  loves.  It  is  a  weakness,  it  is 
not  a  love  worthy  of  an  intelligent  being,  that  in- 
clines a  magistrate  to  pardon  a  criminal,  whose  pre- 
servation will  be  an  injury  to  society,  and  the  spar- 
ing of  whose  life  will  occasion  a  thousand  tragical 
deaths. 


The  Compassion  of  God.  261 

This  kind  of  weakness,  that  confounds  a  mechan- 
ical sensation  with  a  rational  and  intellifrc  nt  love,  is 
the  source  of  many  of  our  misapprehensions  about 
the  manner  in  which  God  loves  us,  and  in  which, 
we  imagine,  he  ought  to  love  us.  We  cannot  con- 
ceive the  consistency  of  God's  love  in  making  us 
wise  in  a  scliool  of  adversity,  in  exposing  us  to  the 
vicissitudes  and  misfortunes  of  life,  and  in  frequent- 
ly abandoning  his  children  to  pains  and  regrets.  It 
seems  strange  to  us,  that  he  should  not  be  affected 
at  hearing  the  groans  of  the  damned,  whose  tor- 
ments can  only  be  assuaged  by  uttering  blasphem- 
ies against  him.  Renounce  these  puerile  ideas,  and 
entertain  more  just  notions  of  the  Supreme  Being. 
He  hath  no  body  ;  he  hath  no  organs  that  can  be 
shaken  by  the  violence  done  to  the  organs  of  a  mal- 
efactor ;  he  hath  no  fibres  that  can  be  stretched  to 
form  an  unison  with  the  fibres  of  your  bodies,  and 
which  must  be  agitated  by  their  motions.  liove,  in 
God,  is  in  an  intelligence,  who  sees  what  is,  and 
who  loves  what  may  justly  be  accounted,  lovely ; 
who  judgeth  by  the  nature  of  things,  and  not  by 
sensations,  of  which  he  is  gloriously  incapable  :  his 
love  is  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  spirituality/  of 
his  essence, 

II.  Our  ideas  of  the  goodness  of  God  must  agree 
with  our  notions  of  the  inconceivahleness  of  his  na- 
ture, I  oppose  this  reflection  to  the  difficulties  that 
have  always  been  urged  against  the  goodness  of 
God.  There  are  two  sorts  of  these  objections  ;  one 
tends  to  limit  the  goodness  of  God,  the  other  to 
carry  it  beyond  its  just  bounds. 


262  The  Compassion  of  God. 

If  God  be  supremely  good,  say  some,  how  is  it 
conceivable  that  he  should  suffer  sin  to  enter  the 
world,  and  with  sin,  all  the  evils  that  necessarily 
follow  it  ?  This  is  one  difficulty  which  tends  to  car- 
ry the  goodness  of  God  beyond  its  just  extent. 

Is  it  conceivable,  say  others,  that  the  great  God, 
that  God,  who  according  to  the  prophet,  "  weighed 
the  mountains  in  scales,  and  the  hills  in  a  balance," 
Isa.  xl.  12.  that  God,  who  "measured  the  waters  in 
the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  meted  out  heaven  with 
a  span,"  ver.  22.  that  God,  who  "sitteth  upon  the 
circle  of  the  earth,  and  considereth  the  inhabitants 
thereof  as  grasshoppers  :"  is  it  conceivable,  that  he 
should  have  such  a  love  for  those  mean  insects  as  the 
gospel  represents ;  a  love  that  inclined  him  to  give 
his  own  Son,  and  to  expose  him  to  the  most  igno- 
minious of  all  punishments,  to  save  them  ?  This  is 
an  objection  of  the  second  class,  which  tends  to  limit 
the  goodness  of  God. 

One  answer  may  serve  to  obviate  both  these  kinds 
of  objections.  The  love  of  God  is  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  the  inconceivableness  of  his  nature.  All 
his  perfections  are  inconceivable,  we  can  only  fol- 
low them  to  a  certain  point,  beyond  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  discover  their  effects.  "  Canst  thou  by 
searching  find  out  God  ?"  Job  xi.  7. 

Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  his  eternity  ? 
Explain  an  eternal  duration :  teach  us  to  compre- 
hend an  extent  of  existence  so  great,  that  when  we 
have  added  age  to  age,  one  million  of  years  to  an- 
other million  of  years,  if  I  may  venture  to  speak  so, 
when  we  have  heaped  ages  upon  ages,  millions  of 


The  Compassion  of  God.  263 

a<^es  upon  millions  of  a^es,  we  have  not  added  one 
day,  one  hour,  one  instant  to  the  duration  of  God, 
with  whom  "  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day,  and 
one  day  as  a  thousand  years." 

Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  his  knowledge  ? 
Explain  to  us  the  wisdom  of  an  intelligence,  who 
comprehended  plans  of  all  possible  worlds;  who 
compared  them  altogether ;  who  chose  the  best,  not 
only  in  preference  to  the  bad,  but  to  the  less  good ; 
who  knew  all  that  could  result  from  the  various 
modifications  of  matter,  not  only  of  the  matter 
which  composeth  our  earth,  but  of  the  immense 
matter,  that  composeth  all  bodies,  which  are  either 
in  motion  or  at  rest  in  the  immensity  of  space,  which 
lie  beyond  the  reach  of  our  senses,  or  the  stretch 
of  our  imaginations,  and  of  which,  therefore,  we 
can  form  no  ideas.  Explain  to  us  the  wisdom  of  a 
God,  who  knew  all  that  could  result  from  the  vari- 
ous modifications  of  spirits,  not  only  of  those  hu- 
man spirits,  which  have  subsisted  hitherto,  or  of 
those  which  will  subsist  hereafter,  in  this  world,  but 
of  the  thou?ands,  of  the  "  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousands  that  stand  before  him,"  Dan.  vii.  10. 

Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  his  power  ?  Ex- 
plain to  us  that  self-eflficient  power,  which  command- 
eth  a  thing  to  be,  and  it  is  ;  wliich  commandeth  it 
not  to  be,  and  it  ceaseth  to  exist. 

The  extent  of  God's  mercy  is  no  less  impossible 
to  find  out  than  the  extent  of  his  other  attributes. 
We  are  as  incapable  of  determining  concerning  this, 
as  concerning  any  of  his  other  perfections,  that  it 
must  needs  extend   hither,  but  not  thither :  that  it 


264  The  Compassion  of  God. 

oii??l]t  to  have  prevented  sin,  but  not  to  have  given 
Jesus  Christ  to  die  for  the  salvation  of  sinners.  Our 
not:on  of  the  goodness  of  God  should  agree  with 
the  inconceivableness  of  bis  nature,  and,  provided 
we  have  good  proofs  of  v/hat  we  believe,  we  ought 
not  to  stagger  at  the  objections,  which  an  insuffi- 
cient, or  rather,  an  insolent  reason  hath  the  audacity 
to  oppose  to  it. 

III.  Our  notion  of  the  goodness  of  God  should 
agree  with  the  holiness  of  his  designs,  I  mean,  that 
it  would  imply  a  contradiction  to  suppose  that  a 
Being  who  is  supremely  holy,  should  have  a  close 
communion  of  love  with  unholy  creatures,  consid- 
ered as  unholy  and  unconverted.  By  this  principle 
we  exclude  the  dreadful  consequences,  that  weak- 
ness and  wickedness  have  been  used  to  infer  from 
the  doctrine  under  our  consideration.  We  oppose 
this  principle  to  the  execrable  reasoning  of  those 
libertines,  w^ho  say,  (and,  alas !  how  many  people, 
who  adopt  this  way  of  reasoning,  mix  with  the  saints, 
and  pretend  to  be  saints  themselves !)  "  Let  us  con- 
tinue in  sin  that  grace  may  abound,"  Rom.  vi.  1. 
With  the  same  principle  the  propliet  guards  the 
text,  "  Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  doth 
the  Lord  pity,"  whom  ?  Them,  who  establish  their 
crimes  on  the  mercy  of  God  ?  God  forbid !  "  So 
doth  the  Lord  pity  them  that  fear  him."  This  truth 
is  so  conformable  to  right  reason,  so  often  repeated 
in  the  holy  scriptures,  and  so  frequently  enforced 
in  this  pulpit,  that  none  but  those  who  wilfully  de- 
ceive themselves  can  mistake  the  matter:  and  for 
these  reasons  we  dismiss  this  article. 


The  Compassion  of  God.  265 

IV,  The  love  of  God  is  in  perfect  harmony  with 
ihe  indqjendence  of  his  principles.  Interest  is  the 
spring  that  moves,  and  very  often  the  defect  that  de- 
stroys, human  friendships.  It  must  be  allowed,  how- 
ever, that  though  principles  of  interest  may  appear 
low  and  mean,  yet  they  often  deserve  pity  more 
than  blame.  It  would  be  extremely  difficult  for  a 
debtor,  if  he  w^ere  oppressed  by  a  merciless  credi- 
tor, to  love  any  person  more  than  him,  who  should 
be  both  able  and  w  illing  to  free  him  from  the  oppres- 
sor's iron  rod.  It  w ould  be  strange  if  a  starving  man 
were  not  to  have  a  more  vehement  love  for  him  who 
should  relieve  his  necessities,  than  for  any  one  else. 
While  our  necessities  continue  as  pressing  as  they 
are  in  this  valley  of  tears,  principles  of  interest  w  ill 
occupy  the  most  of  our  thoughts,  and  w  ill  dkect 
the  best  of  our  friendships.  Disinterested  love 
seems  to  be  incompatible  with  the  state  of  indigent 
creatures. 

But  God  forbid  that  we  should  entertain  similar 
notions  of  the  Deity  !  God  is  supremely  happy.  His 
love  to  his  creatures  is  supremely  disinterested.  In- 
deed, what  interest  can  he  have  in  loving  us  ?  Were 
this  w^orld,  which  hath  existed  but  a  little  while,  to 
cease  to  exist ;  were  all  the  beings  upon  earth,  mate- 
rial and  immaterial,  to  return  to  then*  non-entity ; 
were  God  to  remain  alone,  he  would  enjoy  infinite 
happiness  ;  in  possessing  himself  he  Avould  possess 
perfect  felicity.  "  Every  beast  of  the  forest  is  his, 
and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills,"  Ps.  1.  10.  sa- 
crificial flesh  affords  no  nourishment  to  him ;  clouds 
of  fragTant  incense  communicate  no  odours  to  him ; 

VOL.  I.  34 


266  The  Compassion  of  God. 

he  is  not  entertained  with  the  harmony  of  the  music 
that  is  performed  in  his  honour ;  for  our  goodness  ex- 
tendeth  not  to  him,  Ps.  xvi.  2.  The  praises  of  sera- 
pbims  can  no  more  augment  the  splendor  of  his  glory, 
tlian  the  blasphemies  of  the  damned  can  duuinish  it. 

y.  The  love  of  God  to  his  creatures  agrees  with 
the  immtdahility  of  his  will.  There  is  but  little  re- 
ality, and  less  permanency,  in  human  love.  The 
names  of  steadiness,  constancy,  and  equanimity,  an 
indelible  image,  an  everlasting  impression,  a  perpet- 
ual idea,  an  endless  attachment,  an  eternal  friend- 
ship, all  these  are  only  names,  only  empty,  unmean- 
ing sounds,  when  they  are  applied  to  those  senti- 
ments which  the  most  faithful  friends  entertain  for 
each  other. 

I  am  not  describing  now  those  light  and  inconstant 
people  only,  who  are  as  ready  to  break  as  to  form 
connections :  I  am  describing  people  of  another,  and 
a  better,  disposition  of  mind.  We  are  ignorant  of 
ourselves  when  we  imagine  ourselves  capable  of  a 
permanent  attachment,  and,  when  we  think  that  we 
shall  always  love,  because  we  are  assured  that  we 
love  at  present,  we  are  the  first  to  deceive  ourselves. 
This  man,  who  only  at  certain  times  discovers  senti^ 
ments  of  tenderness,  is  not  a  hypocrite.  That  wo- 
man Avas  very  sincere,  when,  weeping  over  a  dying 
husband,  and  in  some  sense  more  agonizing  than  he, 
she  just  gathered  strength  enough  to  close  the  eyes 
of  her  departing  all,  and  protested  that  she  should 
never  enjoy  another  moment,  except  that  in  which 
the  great  Disposer  of  all  events  should  appoint  her 
to  follow  her  beloved  partner  to  the  grave :  the  wo- 


The  Compassion  of  God.  267 

man  expressed  what  she  then  felt,  and  what,  she 
thought,  she  should  always  feel :  but,  however,  time 
brought  forward  new  objects,  and  other  scenes  have 
calmed  the  violence  of  her  passions,  and  have  placed 
her  in  that  state  of  tranquility  and  submission  to  the 
will  of  God,  which  all  the  maxims  of  religion  had  not 
the  power  of  producing. 

People  are  not  always  to  be  blamed  for  the  slight- 
ness  of  tlieir  friendships.  Our  levity  constitutes,  in 
some  sort,  our  felicity,  and  our  imperfections  apolo- 
£jize  for  our  inconstancy.  Life  would  be  one  con- 
tinned  agony,  if  our  friendships  were  always  in  the 
same  degree  of  activity.  Rachel  would  be  infi- 
nitely miserable,  if  she  were  always  thinking  about 
"  her  children,  and  would  not  be  comforted  because 
they  are  not,"  Mat.  ii.  18.  I  only  mean  to  observe, 
that  a  character  of  levity  is  essential  to  the  friend- 
ships of  finite  human  minds. 

God  alone  is  capable,  (O  thou  adorable  Being, 
who  only  canst  have  such  noble  sentiments,  enable 
us  to  express  them !)  God  only,  my  dear  brethren, 
is  capable  of  a  love,  real,  solid,  and  permanent,  free 
from  diversion  and  without  interiaiption.  What  de- 
lineations, what  representations,  what  purposes,  re- 
volved in  the  infinite  mind,  before  that  appointed 
period,  in  which  he  had  determined  to  express  him- 
self in  exterior  Avorks,  and  to  give  existence  to  a 
multitude  of  creatures?  Yet  throughout  all  these 
countless  ages,  through  all  these  unfathomable  abys- 
ses of  eternity,  (I  know  no  literal  terms  to  express 
eternity)  yet  through  all  eternity  he  thought  of  us, 
my  dear  brethren ;   then  he  formed  the  plan  of  our 


268  The  Compassion  of  God. 

Salvation ;  then  he  appointed  the  victim  that  procur- 
ed it ;  then  he  laid  up  for  us  the  felicity  and  glory 
that  we  hope  for  ever  to  enjoy !  What  care  and  ap- 
plication are  required  to  inspect,  to  order  and  ar- 
range the  numberless  beino:s  of  the  whole  earth  ?  The 
whole  earth,  did  I  say  ?  The  whole  earth  is  only  an 
inconsiderable  point :  but  what  care  and  application 
are  required  to  inspect,  to  order  and  arrange  tlie 
worlds  which  we  discover  revolving  over  our  headvS 
with  other  worlds,  that  we  have  a  right  to  suppose 
in  the  immensity  of  space  ?  Yet  this  application  doth 
not  prevent  his  attention  to  thee,  believer ;  thy 
health  he  guards,  thy  family  he  guides,  thy  fortune 
and  thy  salvation  he  governs,  as  if  each  were  the  on- 
ly object  of  his  care,  and  as  if  thou  wert  alone  in 
the  universe !  AYhat  an  immensity  of  happiness  must 
fill  the  intelligence  of  God,  who  is  himself  the  source 
of  felicity ;  of  a  God,  who  is  surrounded  with  an- 
gels, archangels,  and  happy  spirits,  serving  him  day 
and  night,  continually  attending  round  his  throne, 
and  waiting  to  fly  at  a  signal  of  his  will ;  of  a  God, 
who  directeth  and  disposeth  all ;  of  a  God,  who  ex- 
isting with  the  Word,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  enjoys  in 
that  union  inconceivable  and  ineffable  delights ;  and 
yet  the  enjoyment  of  his  own  happiness  doth  not  at 
all  divert  his  attention  from  the  happiness  of  his  crea- 
tures !  If  a  Said  persecute  his  church,  he  is  persecu- 
ted with  it.  Acts  ix.  4.  and  when  profane  hands  touch 
liis  children,  they  touch  the  apple  of  his  eye,  Zech.  ii. 
8.  In  all  her  affliction  he  is  afflicted,  Isa.  Ixiii.  9.  lo  I 
he  is  with  us  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  worlds 
Matthew  xxviii.  20. 


The  Compassion  of  God.  269 

VI.  The  goodness  of  God  must  harmonize  with 
the  efficiency/  of  his  will.  The  great  defect  of  human 
friendships  is  their  inefficacy.  The  \mavailing  emo- 
tions that  men  feel  for  each  other,  their  ineffectual 
wishes  for  each  other's  happiness,  we  denominate 
friendship.  But  suppose  an  union  of  every  heart  in 
thy  favour,  suppose  though  without  a  precedent, 
thyself  the  object  of  the  love  of  all  mankind,  what 
benefit  couldst  thou  derive  from  all  this  love  in  some 
cuTumstances  of  thy  life?  What  relief  from  real 
evils  ?  Ah !  my  friends,  ye  are  eager  to  assist  me  in 
my  dying  agonies  ;  Alas !  my  family,  ye  are  distres- 
sed to  death  to  see  me  die ;  ye  love  me,  and  I  know 
the  tears  that  bathe  you,  flow  from  yom'  hearts ;  yes, 
ye  love  me,  but  I  must  die ! 

None  but  the  infinite  God,  my  dear  brethren, 
none  but  the  adorable  God  hath  an  efficient  love. 
If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  /  Rom. 
viii.  31.  Let  the  ele  iients  be  let  loose  against  my 
person  and  my  life,  let  mankind,  who  differ  about 
every  thing  else,  agree  to  torment  me,  let  there  be 
a  general  conspiracy  of  nature  and  society  against 
my  happiness,  what  doth  it  signify  to  me  ?  If  God 
love  me,  I  shall  be  happy :  with  God  to  love  and  to 
beatify  is  one  and  the  same  act  of  his  self-efficient 
will. 

VII.  But  finally,  the  goodness  of  God  must  agree 
with  his  veracity,  I  mean  that  although  the  many 
scripture- images  of  the  goodness  of  God  are  imper- 
fect, and  must  not  be  literally  understood,  they  must, 
however,  have  a  real  sense  and  meanmg.  Moreo- 
ver, I  affirm,  that  the  grandeur  of  the  original   h 


270  The  Compassion  of  God, 

not  at  all  diminished,  but  on  the  contrary,  that 
our  ideas  of  it  are  very  much  enlarged,  by  purifying 
and  retrenching  the  images  that  represent  it ;  and 
this  we  are  obliged  to  do  on  account  of  the  eminence 
of  the  divine  perfections.  And  here  my  brethren,  I 
own  I  am  involved  in  the  most  agreeable  diffi- 
culty that  can  be  imagined,  and  my  mind  is  absorb- 
ed in  an  innumerable  multitude  of  objects,  each  of 
which  verifieth  the  proposition  in  the  text.  I  am 
obliged  to  pass  by  a  world  of  proofs  and  demonstra- 
tions. Yes,  I  pass  by  the  firmament  with  all  its 
stars,  the  earth  with  all  its  productions,  the  treasures 
of  the  sea  and  the  influences  of  the  air,  the  symme- 
try of  the  body,  the  charms  of  society,  and  many 
other  objects,  which  in  the  most  elegant  and  pa- 
thetic manner,  preach  the  Creator's  goodness  to  us. 
Those  grand  objects  which  have  excited  the  aston- 
ishment of  philosophers,  and  filled  the  inspired  wri- 
ters with  wonder  and  praise,  scarcely  merit  a  mo- 
ment's attention  to-day.  I  stop  at  the  principal  idea 
of  the  prophet.  We  have  before  observed,  that  the 
term  which  is  rendered  pity  in  the  text,  is  a  vague 
word,  and  is  often  put  in  scripture  for  the  goodness 
of  God  in  general.  However,  we  must  acknowledge, 
that  it  most  properly  signifies  the  disposition  of  a 
good  parent,  who  is  inclined  to  shew  mercy  to  his 
son,  when  he  is  become  sensible  of  his  follies,  and 
endeavours  by  new  effusions  of  love  to  re-establish 
the  communion  that  his  disobedience  had  interrupt- 
ed :  this  is  certainly  the  principal  idea  of  the  pro- 
phet. 


The  Compassion  of  God.  271 

Now  who  can  doubt,  my  brethren,  whether  God 
possess  the  reality  of  this  image  in  the  most  noble, 
the  most  rich,  and  tlie  most  eminent  sense?  Wouldst 
thou  be  convinced,  sinner,  of  the  truth  of  the  decla- 
ration in  the  text  ?  Wouldst  thou  know  the  extent 
of  the  mercy  of  God  to  poor  sinful  men  ?  Consider 
then,  1.  The  victim  that  he  hath  substituted  in  their 
stead.  2.  The  patience  which  he  exerciseth  to- 
wards them.  3.  The  crimes  that  he  pardons.  4. 
The  familiar  friendship  to  which  he  invites  them. 
And  5.  The  rewards  that  he  bestows  on  them.  Ah ! 
ye  tender  fathers,  ye  mothers  who  seem  to  be  all 
love  for  your  children,  ye  whose  eyes,  whose  hearts, 
whose  perpetual  cares  and  affections  are  concenter- 
ed in  them,  yield,  yield  to  the  love  of  God  for  his 
children,  and  acknowledge  that  God  only  knows 
how  to  love ! 

Let  us  remark,  1.  The  sacrifice  that  God  hath 
substituted  in  the  sinner's  stead.  One  of  the  live- 
liest and  most  emphatical  expressions  of  the  love  of 
God,  in  my  opinion,  is  that  in  the  gospel  of  St. 
John.  God  so  loved  the  norld,  that  he  gave  his  only 
begotten  Son,  ch.  iii.  16.  Weigh  these  words,  my 
brethren,  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  on- 
ly begotten  Son,  Metaph}  sic^il  ideas  begin  to  grow 
into  disrepute,  and  I  am  not  surprized  at  it.  Man- 
kind have  such  imperfect  notions  of  substances,  they 
know  so  little  of  the  nature  of  spirits,  particularly, 
they  are  so  entirely  at  a  loss  in  reasoning  on  the  In- 
finite Spirit,  that  we  need  not  be  astonished  if  peo- 
ple retire  from  the  speculative  track  in  which  the 
indiscretion  of  some  hath  made  great  mistakes. 


272  The  Compassion  of  God. 

Behold  a  sure  system  of  metaphysics.  Convin* 
ced  of  the  imperfection  of  all  my  knowledge,  but 
particularly  of  my  discoveries  of  the  being  and 
perfections  of  God,  I  consult  the  sacred  oracles, 
which  God  hath  published,  in  order  to  obtain  right 
notions  of  him.  I  immediately  perceive  that  God, 
in  speaking  of  himself,  hath  proportioned  his  lan- 
guage to  the  weakness  of  men,  to  whom  he  hath 
addressed  his  word.  In  this  view,  J  meet  with  no 
difficulty  in  explaining  those  passages  in  which  God 
saith,  that  he  hath  hands  or  feet,  eyes  or  heart,  that 
he  goeth  or  cometh,  ascendeth  or  descendeth,  that 
he  is  in  some  cases  pleased,  and  in  others  provoked. 

Yet  methinks,  it  would  be  a  strange  abuse  of  this 
notion  of  scripture,  not  to  understand  some  con- 
stant ideas  literally  ;  ideas  which  the  scriptures  give 
us  of  God,  and  on  which  the  system  of  Christiani- 
ty partly  rests. 

I  perceive,  and  I  think  very  clearly,  that  the 
scriptures  constantly  speak  of  a  being,  a  person,  or, 
if  I  may  speak  so,  a  portion  of  the  divine  essence, 
w^hich  is  called  the  Father,  and  another  that  is  cal- 
led the  Son. 

I  think,  I  perceive  with  equal  evidence  in  the 
same  book,  that  between  these  two  persons,  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  there  is  the  closest  and  most 
intimate  union  that  can  be  imagined.  What  love 
must  there  be  between  these  two  persons,  who  have 
the  same  perfections  and  the  same  ideas,  the  same 
purposes  and  the  same  plans  ?  What  love  must  sub- 
sist between  two  persons,  whose  union  is  not  inter- 
rupted by  any  calamity  without,  by  any  passion 


The  Compassion  of  God,  273 

Tvitliin,  or,  to  speak  more  fully  still,  by  any  ima- 
gination ? 

AYith  equal  clearness  I  perceive,  that  the  man 
Jesus,  who  was  born  at  Bethlehem,  and  was  laid  in 
a  manger,  was  in  the  closest  union  with  the  Word, 
that  is,  with  the  Son  of  God  ;  and  that  in  virtue  of 
this  union  the  man  Jesus  is  more  beloved  of  God 
than  all  the  other  creatures  of  the  universe. 

No  less  clearly  do  I  perceive  in  scripture,  that 
the  man  Jesus,  who  is  as  closely  united  to  the  eter- 
nal Word,  as  the  Word  is  to  God,  was  delivered 
for  me,  a  vile  creature,  to  the  most  ignominious 
treatment,  to  sufferings  the  most  painful,  and  the 
most  shameful,  that  were  ever  inflicted  on  the  mean- 
est and  basest  of  mankind. 

And  when  I  enquire  the  cause  of  this  great  mys- 
tery, when  I  ask,  W^hy  did  the  almighty  God  be- 
stow so  rich  a  present  on  me  ?  Especially  when  I 
apply  to  revelation  for  an  explication  of  this  mys- 
tery, which  reason  cannot  fully  explain,  I  can  find 
no  other  cause  than  the  compassion  of  God. 

liCt  the  schools  take  their  way,  let  reason  lose  it- 
self in  speculations,  yea,  let  faith  find  it  difficult  to 
submit  to  a  doctrine,  which  hath  always  appeared 
with  an  awful  solemnity  to  those  who  have  thought 
and  meditated  on  it;  for  my  part,  I  abide  by  this 
clear  and  astonishing,  but  at  the  same  time,  this 
kind  and  comfortable  proposition,  God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son.  When 
people  shew  us  Jesus  Christ  in  the  garden,  sweating 
great  drops  of  blood ;  when  they  speak  of  his  trial 
before  Caiaphas  and  Pilate,  in  which  he  was  interro- 

VOL.  I.  35 


274  The  Compassion  of  God, 

gated,  insulted  and  scourged ;  when  they  present  hinfi 
to  our  view  upon  mount  Calvary,  nailed  to  a  cross, 
and  bowing  beneath  the  blows  of  heaven  and  earth  ; 
when  they  require  the  reason  of  these  formidable 
and  surprizing  phoenom.ena,  we  will  answer.  It  is  be- 
cause God  loved  mankind ;  it  is  because  God  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 

2,  The  patience  that  God  exerciseth  toward  sin- 
ners, is  our  second  remark.  Here,  my  brethren,  I 
wish  that  as  many  of  you  as  are  interested  in  this 
article  would  allow  me  to  omit  particulars,  and  would 
recollect  the  histories  of  your  own  lives. 

My  life,  says  one,  is  consumed  in  perpetual  indo- 
lence. I  am  a  stranger  to  the  practice  of  private 
devotion,  and  to  speak  the  truth,  I  consider  it  only 
as  a  fancy.  I  attend  public  worship,  only  because  I 
would  conform  to  example  and  custom.  I  hear  the 
sermons  of  the  ministers  of  the  gospel  as  amusive 
discourses,  that  treat  of  subjects  in  which  I  have  no 
interest.  I  take  no  part  in  the  prayers  that  are  ad- 
dressed to  God  in  behalf  of  the  sick  or  the  poor,  the 
church  or  the  state. 

I,  saith  a  second,  ever  since  I  have  been  in  the 
world,  have  cherished  one  of  the  most  shameful  and 
criminal  passions ;  sometimes  I  have  been  shocked 
at  its  turpitude,  and  sometimes  I  have  resolved  to 
free  myself  from  it :  in  some  of  my  sicknesses, 
which  I  thought,  would  have  ended  in  death,  I  de- 
termined on  a  sincere  conversion :  sometimes  a  ser- 
mon, or  a  pious  book,  hath  brought  me  to  self-ex- 
amination, which  hath  ended  in  a  promise  of  refor- 
mation :  sometimes  the  sight  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 


The  Compassion  of  God.  275 

an  institution  properly  adapted  to  display  the  sinful- 
ness of  sin,  hath  exhibited  my  sin  in  all  its  heinous- 
ness,  and  hath  bound  me  by  oath  to  sacrifice  my  un- 
worthy passion  to  God.  But  my  corruption  hath 
been  superior  to  all,  and  yet  God  hath  borne  with 
me  to  this  day. 

A  third  must  say,  As  for  me  I  hare  lived  thirty 
or  forty  years  in  a  country  where  the  public  pro- 
fession of  religion  is  not  prohibited,  and  I  have  pass- 
ed all  the  time  without  a  membership  to  any  church, 
without  ordinances,  without  public  worship,  and 
without  the  hope  of  a  pastor  to  comfort  me  in  my 
dying  illness;  I  have  seduced  my  family  by  my 
example ;  I  have  consented  to  the  settlement  of  my 
children,  and  have  suffered  them  to  contract  mar- 
riages without  the  blessing  of  heaven  ;  my  luke- 
warmness  hath  caused  first  their  indifference,  and 
last  their  apostacy,  and  will  perhaps  cause  .... 
and  yet  God  hath  borne  with  me  to  this  day. 

Why  hath  he  borne  with  me  ?  It  is  not  a  conni- 
vance at  sin,  for  he  hates  and  detests  it.  It  is  not 
ignorance,,  for  he  penetrates  the  inmost  recesses  of 
my  soul,  nor  hath  a  single  act,  no,  not  a  single  act, 
of  my  rebellion,  eluded  the  search  of  his  all-piercing 
eye.  It  is  not  a  want  of  power  to  punish  a  crimi- 
nal, for  he  holds  the  thunders  in  his  mighty  hands, 
at  his  command  hell  opens,  and  the  fallen  angels 
wait  only  for  his  permission  to  seize  their  prey. 
Why  then  do  I  yet  subsist  ?  Why  do  I  see  the  light 
of  this  day  ?  Why  are  the  doors  of  this  church  once 
more  open  to  me  ?    It  is  because  he  commiserates 


276  T^he  Compassion  of  God, 

poor  sinners.    It  is  because  he  pitieth  me  as  a  fa- 
ther pitieth  his  children, 

3.  Let  us  remark  the  crimes  which  God  pardon- 
eth.  There  is  no  sin  excepted,  no,  not  one,  in  the 
list  of  those  which  God  hath  promised  to  forgive  to 
true  penitents.  He  pardoneth  not  only  the  sins  of 
those  whom  he  hath  not  called  into  his  visible  church, 
who,  not  having  been  indulged  with  this  kind  of 
benefits,  have  not  had  it  in  their  power  to  carry  in- 
gratitude to  its  height :  but  he  pardoneth  also  crimes 
committed  under  such  dispensations  as  seem  to  ren- 
der sin  least  pardonable.  He  pardoneth  sins  com- 
mitted under  the  dispensation  of  the  law,  as  he  for- 
giveth  those  which  are  committed  under  the  dis- 
pensation of  nature  ;  and  those  that  are  committed 
under  the  dispensation  of  the  gospel,  as  those  which 
are  committed  under  the  law.  He  forgiveth,  not 
only  such  sins  as  have  been  committed  through  igno- 
norance,  infirmity,  and  inadvertency,  but  such  also 
as  have  been  committed  deliberately,  and  obstinate- 
ly. He  not  only  forgiveth  the  sins  of  a  day,  a  week, 
or  a  month,  but  he  forgiveth  also  the  sins  of  a  great 
number  of  years,  those  which  have  been  formed  in- 
to an  inveterate  habit,  and  have  grown  old  with  the 
sinner.  Though  your  sins  he  as  scarlet,  they  shall  he 
as  white  as  snow  ;  though  they  he  red  like  crimson^ 
they  shall  he  as  wool,  Isa.  i.  18. 

But  what  am  I  saying  ?  It  is  not  enough  to  say 
that  God  forgiveth  sins,  he  unites  himself  to  those 
who  have  committed  them  by  the  most  tender  and 
affectionate  ties. 

4.  Our  next  article  therefore  regards  the  familiar 


The  Compassion  of  God.  211 

friendship  to  wliich  God  invites  us.     Wiiat  intimate, 
close,  and  afreetionate  relation  canst  thou  imagine, 
which  God  is  not  willing  to  form  with  thee  in  reli- 
gion ?  x\rt  thou  affected  with  the  vigilance  of  a  shep- 
herd, who  watcheth  over,  and  sacrificeth  all  his  care, 
and  even  his  life  for  his  flock?  This   relation  God 
will  have  with  thee :  "  The  Lord  is  my  sheplierd,  I 
shall  not  want.     He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green 
pastures :  he  leadeth  me  beside  the  still  waters,"  Psa. 
xxiii.  1,  2.     Alt  thou  aff*ected  with  the  confidence 
of  a  friend,  who  openeth  his  heart  to  his  friend,  and 
communicates  to  him  his  most  secret  thoughts,  divi- 
ding with  him  all  his  pleasures  and  all  his  pains  ?  God 
will  have  this  relation   with   thee :  "  The  secret  of 
the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him,"  Psa.  xxv.  14. 
"  Shall  I  hide  from  Abraham  that  thing  which  I  do  ?" 
Gen.  xviii.  17.  "I  call  you  not  servants ;  for  the  ser- 
vant knoweth  not  what  his  Lord  doeth  :  but  I  have 
called  you  friends ;  for  all  things  that  I  have  heard 
of  my  Father,  I  have  made  known  unto  you,"  John 
XV.  15.     Art  thou  touched  with  the  tenderness  of  a 
mother,  whose  highest  earthly  happiness  is  to  suckle 
the  son  of  her  womb  ?  God  will  have  this  relation 
with  thee :  "  Can  a  woman  forget  her  sucking  child, 
that  she  should  not  have  compassion   on  the  son  of 
her  womb  ?  Yea,   they  may  forget,   yet  will  I  not 
forget  thee,"  Isa.  xlix.  15. 

Hast  thou  some  good  reasons  for  disgust  with 
human  connections  ?  Are  thy  views  so  liberal  and 
delicate  as  to  afford  thee  a  conviction  that  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  real  friendship  among  men  ?  And 
tliat  what  are  called  connections,  friendships,  affec- 


278  The  Compassion  of  God, 

tions,  unions,  tendernesses,  are  generally  no  other 
than  interchanges  of  deceit  disguised  under  agreea- 
ble names  ?  Are  thy  feelings  so  refined  that  thou 
sighest  after  connections  formed  on  a  nobler  plan  ? 
God  will  have  such  connections  with  thee.  Yes, 
there  is,  in  the  plan  of  religion,  an  union  formed  be- 
tween God  and  us,  on  the  plan  of  that  w^hich  sub- 
sists between  the  three  persons  in  the  godhead,  the 
object  of  our  worship :  that  is,  as  far  as  a  similar  un- 
ion between  God  and  us  can  subsist  without  contra- 
diction. God  grants  this  to  the  intercession  of  his 
Son,  in  virtue  of  that  perfect  obedience  which  he 
rendered  to  his  Father  on  the  cross.  This  Jesus 
Christ  requested  for  us,  on  the  eve  of  that  day,  in 
which,  by  his  ever-memorable  sacrifice,  he  reconcil- 
ed heaven  and  earth  :  "  I  pray  not  for  the  world, 
but  for  them  which  thou  hast  given  me,  for  they  are 
thine,"  John  xvii.  9.  "Neither  pray  I  for  these 
alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me 
through  their  word :  that  they  all  may  be  one,  as 
thou.  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee;  that  they  al- 
so may  be  one  in  us,"  ver.  20.  21.  Do  not  enquire 
the  possibility  of  this  union,  how  w^e  can  be  one 
Avith  God  and  with  Jesus  Christ,  as  Jesus  Christ  and 
God  are  one.  Our  hearts,  as  defective  in  the  pow- 
er of  feeling  as  our  minds  in  that  of  reasoning,  have 
no  facuhies,  at  present,  for  the  knowedge  of  such 
things  as  can  be  known  only  by  feeling.  But  the 
time  will  come  when  both  sense  and  intelligence 
will  be  expanded,  and  then  we  shall  know,  by  a 
happy  experience,  what  it  is  to  be  one  w  ith  God  and 
with  Jesus  Christ. 


The  Compassion  of  God,  279 

This  leads  us  to  our  5th  and  last  article,  That  is, 
the  felicity  that  God  reserveth  for  his  cliildren  in 
another  world.  A  re-union  of  all  the  felicities  of 
this  present  world  would  not  be  sufficient  to  express 
the  love  of  God  to  us.  Nature  is  too  indigent :  our 
faculties  are  too  indigent :  society  is  too  indigent : 
religion  itself  is  too  indigent. 

Nature  is  too  indigent :  it  might  indeed  afford  us 
a  temperate  air,  an  earth  enamelled  with  flowers, 
trees  laden  with  fruits,  and  climates  rich  with  de- 
lights :  but  all  its  present  beauties  are  inadequate  to 
the  love  of  God,  and  there  must  be  another  world, 
another  oeconomy,  "  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth," 
Isa.  Ixv.  17. 

Our  faculties  are  too  indigent ;  they  might  indeed 
admit  abundant  pleasures,  for  we  are  capable 
of  knowing,  and  God  could  gratify  our  desire  of 
knowledge.  We  are  capable  of  agreeable  sensa- 
tions, and  God  is  able  to  give  us  objects  proportion- 
al to  our  sensations ;  and  so  of  the  rest.  But  all 
these  gratifications  would  be  too  little  to  express 
the  love  of.  God  to  us.  Our  faculties  must  be  re- 
newed, and  in  some  sense,  new  cast ;  for  this  corrup- 
tible body  must  put  on  incorruption  ;  this  natural  bo- 
dy must  become  a  spiritual  body,  1  Cor.  xv.  53.  44. 
so  that  by  means  of  more  delicate  organs  we  may 
enjoy  more  exquisite  pleasures.  Our  souls  must  be 
united  to  glorified  bodies,  by  laws  different  from 
those  which  now  unite  us  to  matter,  in  order  to  ca- 
pacitate us  for  more  extensive  knowledge. 

Society  is  too  indigent,  although  society  miglit 
become  an  ocean  of  pleasure  to  us.    There  are  men 


280  The  Compassion  of  God, 

whose  friendships  are  full  of  charms  ;  their  conver- 
sations are  edifying  and  their  acquaintance  delight- 
ful ;  and  God  is  able  to  place  us  among  such  amia- 
ble characters  in  this  world :  but  society  hath  no- 
thing great  enough  to  express  the  love  of  God  to  us. 
We  must  be  introduced  to  the  society  of  glorified 
saints,  and  to  thousands  of  angels  and  happy  spirits, 
who  are  capable  of  more  magnanimity  and  delicacy 
than  all  that  we  can  imagine  here. 

Religion  itself  is  too  indigent,  although  it  might 
open  to  us  a  source  of  delight.  What  pleasure  hath 
religion  afforded  us  on  those  happy  days  of  our 
lives,  in  which,  having  fled  from  the  crowd,  and 
suspended  our  love  to  the  world,  we  meditated  on 
the  grand  truths  which  God  hath  revealed  to  us  in  his 
word  ;  when  we  ascended  to  God  by  fervent  prayer ; 
or  renewed  at  the  Lord's  table  our  commimion  with 
him !  How  often  have  holy  men  been  enraptured  in 
these  exercises  !  How  often  have  they  exclaimed  du- 
ring these  foretastes,  Our  souls  are  "  satisfied  as  with 
marrow  and  fatness,"  Psa.  Ixiii.  5.  "  O  how  great  is 
thy  goodness,  which  thou  hast  laid  up  for  them  that 
fear  thee,"  xxxi.  19.  A¥e  are  "  abundantly  satisfied 
with  the  fatness  of  thy  house  :  w^e  drink  of  the  river 
of  thy  pleasures,"  ch.  xxxvi.  8.  Yet  even  religion 
can  afford  nothuig  here  belo^v  than  can  sufficiently 
express  the  love  of  God  to  us.  We  must  be  admit- 
ted into  that  state,  in  which  there  is  neither  temple  nor 
sun,  because  God  supplieth  the  place  of  both.  Rev. 
xxi.  22,  23.  We  are  to  behold  God,  not  surroun- 
ded with  such  a  handful  of  people  as  this,  but  with 
ihousand  thonsandSj  and  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou- 


The  Compassion  of  God,  28i 

stind,  Dan.  vii.  10.  who  stand  continually  before  him* 
We  must  see  God,  not  in  the  displays  of  his  grace 
in  our  churches,  but  in  all  the  magnificence  of  his 
glory  in  heaven.  We  are  to  prostrate  ourselves  be- 
fore him,  not  at  the  Lord's  table,  where  he  is  made 
known  to  us  in  the  symbols  of  bread  and  wine  :  (au- 
gust symbols  indeed :  but  two  gross  to  exhibit  the  gran- 
deur of  God)  but  we  are  to  behold  him  upon  his 
throne  of  glory,  w  orshipped  by  all  the  happy  host  of 
heaven.  What  cause  produceth  those  noble  effects  I 
From  what  source  do  those  rivers  of  pleasure  flow  1 
Ps.  xxxiv.  8.  It  is  love  which  lays  up  all  this  good- 
Qiess  for  us,  Ps.  xxxi.  19.  "I  drew  them  with  cords 
of  a  man,  with  bands  of  love,"  Hos.  xi.  4. 

Let  us  meditate  on  the  love  of  God,  who,  being 
supremely  happy  himself,  communicateth  perfect 
happiness  to  us.  Supreme  happiness  doth  not  make 
God  forget  us ;  shall  the  miserable  comforts  of  this 
life  make  us  forget  him?  Our  attachments  to  this 
life  are  so  strong,  the  acquaintances  that  we  have 
contracted  in  this  world  so  many,  and  the  relations 
that  we  bear  so  tender ;  we  are,  in  a  word,  so  habit- 
uated to  live,  that  we  need  not  wonder  if  it  cost  us 
a  good  deal  to  be  willing  to  die.  But  this  attach- 
ment to  life,  which,  when  it  proceeds  only  to  a  cer- 
tain degree,  is  a  sinless  infinnity,  becomes  one  of 
the  most  criminal  dispositions  when  it  exceeds  its 
just  limits.  It  is  not  right  that  the  objects  of  divine 
love  should  lose  sight  of  theu'  chief  good,  in  a  world 
where,  after  then-  best  endeavours,  there  will  be  too 
many  obstacles  between  them  and  God.  It  is  not 
j-ight  that  rational  creatures,  who  have  heard  of  the 

VOL.  I.  36 


282  The  Compassion  of  God. 

pure,  extensive,  and  munificent  love  of  God  to  them, 
should  be  destitute  of  the  most  ardent  desires  of  a 
closer  union  to  him  than  any  that  can  be  attained  in 
this  life.  One  single  moment's  delay  should  give  us 
pain,  and  if  we  wish  to  live  it  should  be  only  to  pre- 
pare to  die.  We  ought  to  desire  life  only  to  mortify 
sin,  to  practise  and  to  perfect  virtue,  to  avail  our- 
selves of  opportunities  of  knowing  ourselves  better, 
and  of  obtaining  stronger  assmances  of  our  salva- 
tion. No,  I  can  never  persuade  myself  that  a  man, 
who  is  wise  in  the  truths  of  wliich  we  have  been  dis- 
coursing, a  man,  in  whom  the  love  of  God  hath  been 
"  shed  abroad  by  the  Holy  Ghost  given  unto  him," 
Rom.  V.  5.  a  man,  who  thinks  himself  an  object  of 
the  love  of  the  great  Supreme,  and  who  knows  that 
the  great  Supreme  will  not  render  him  perfectly  hap- 
py in  this  life,  but  in  the  next,  can  afford  much  time 
for  the  amusements  of  this.  I  can  never  persuade 
myself  that  a  man,  who  hath  such  elevated  notions, 
and  such  magnificent  prospects,  can  make  a  very  se- 
rious affair  of  having  a  great  name  in  this  world,  of 
lodging  in  a  palace,  or  of  descending  from  an  illus- 
trious ancestry.  These  little  passions,  if  we  consider 
them  in  themselves,  may  seem  almost  indifferent, 
and  I  giant,  if  ye  will,  that  they  are  not  always  at- 
tended with  very  bad  consequences,  that,  in  some 
cases,  they  injure  nobody,  and,  in  many,  cause  no 
trouble  in  society :  but,  if  we  consider  the  principle 
from  which  they  proceed,  they  will  appear  very  mor- 
tifying to  us.  AVe  shall  find  that  the  zeal  and  fer- 
vor, the  impatient  breathings  of  some,  "  to  depail, 
and  to  be  with  Christ,"  Phil.  i.  23.  the  aspiiing  of  a 


The  Compassion  of  God.  283 

soul  after  the  chief  good  ;  the  prayer,  "  Come,  Lord 
Jesus,  come  quickly,"  Rev.  xxii.  20.  the  eager  wish, 
"  When  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  God,"  Ps. 
xlii.  2.  We  shall  find  that  these  dispositions,  which 
some  of  us  treat  as  enthusiasm,  and  which  others  of 
us  refer  to  saints  of  the  first  order,  to  whose  perfec- 
tions we  have  not  the  presumption  to  aspire  ;  we  shall 
find,  I  say,  that  these  dispositions  are  more  essential 
to  Clu'istianity  than  we  may  have  liitherto  imagined. 

May  God  make  us  truly  sensible  to  that  noble  and 
tender  love  which  God  hath  for  us !  May  God  kin- 
dle cur  love  at  the  fire  of  his  own?  May  God  enable 
us  to  know  religion  by  such  pleasures  as  they  expe- 
rience who  make  love  to  God  the  foundation  of  all 
vktue !  These  are  our  petitions  to  God  for  you :  to 
these  may  each  of  us  say.  Amen ! 


SERMON  VIII. 

The  Incomprehensibility  of  the  Mercy  of  GotL 

Isaiah  Iv.  8,  9. 

For  my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are 
your  ways  my  rvays,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  th^ 
heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways 
higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your 
thoughts. 

\jO,  "  these  are  parts  of  his  ways,  but  how  little  a 
portion  is  heard  of  hiin !"  Job  xxvi.  14.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  sententious  sayings  of  Job,  and  it  ex- 
presseth,  in  a  very  lively  and  emphatical  manner^ 
tlie  works  of  God.  Such  language  would  produce 
but  very  little  effect  indeed  in  the  mouth  of  a  care- 
less unthinking  man :  but  Job,  who  uttered  it,  had  a 
mind  filled  with  the  noblest  ideas  of  the  perfections 
of  God.  He  had  studied  them  in  his  prosperity,  in 
order  to  enable  him  to  render  homage  to  God,  from 
whom  alone  his  prosperity  came.  His  heart  was 
conversant  with  them  under  his  distressing  adversi- 
ties, and  of  them  he  had  learnt  to  bow  to  the  hand 
of  him  who  was  no  less  the  author  of  adversity  than 
of  prosperity,  of  darkness  than  of  day.  All  this  ap- 
pears by  the  fine  description  which  the  holy  man 
gives  immediately  before  :  "  God/'  saith  he,  "  stretch- 


286  The  Incomprehensihilily 

eth  out  the  north  over  the  empty  place,  and  hangeth 
the  earth  upon  nothing.  He  bindeth  up  his  waters 
in  his  thick  clouds ;  and  the  cloud  is  not  rent  under 
them.  He  hath  compassed  the  waters  with  bounds. 
The  pillars  of  heaven  tremble,  and  are  astonished  at 
his  reproof.  He  divideth  the  sea  with  his  power,  and 
by  his  understanding  he  smiteth  through  the  proud. 
By  his  spirit  he  hath  garnished  the  heavens."  But 
are  these  the  only  productions  of  the  Creator  ?  Have 
these  emanations  wholly  exhausted  his  power  ?  No, 
replieth  Job,  "  These  are  only  parts  of  his  ways,  and 
how  little  a  portion  is  heard  of  him !" 

My  brethren,  what  this  holy  man  said  of  the  won- 
ders of  nature,  we,  with  much  more  reason,  say  to 
you  of  the  wonders  of  grace.  Collect  all  that  pagan 
philosophers  have  taught  you  of  the  goodness  of  the 
Supreme  Being.  To  the  opinions  of  philosophers 
join  the  declarations  of  the  prophets.  To  the  decla- 
rations of  the  prophets,  and  to  the  opinions  of  phi- 
losophers, add  the  discoveries  of  the  evangelists  and 
apostles.  Compose  one  body  of  doctrine  of  all  that 
various  authors  have  written  on  this  comfortable  sub- 
ject. To  the  whole  join  your  own  experience  ;  your 
ideas  to  their  ideas,  your  meditations  to  their  medi- 
tations, and  then  believe  that  ye  are  only  floating  on 
the  surface  of  the  goodness  of  God,  that  his  love 
hath  dimensions,  a  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth, 
and  height,  Eph.  iii.  18.  which  the  human  mind  can 
never  attain :  and,  upon  the  brink  of  this  ocean,  say, 
"  Lo,  these  are  only  parts  of  his  ways,  and  how  lit- 
tle a  portion  is  heard  of  him !" 


of  the  Mercy  of  God.  287 

This  Incomprehensibility  of  the  fijoodness  of  God, 
(and  what  attention,  what  sensibility,  what  gratitude 
have  we  not  a  right  to  expect  of  you  !)  This  incon- 
ceivableness  of  the  goodness  of  God  we  intend  to 
discuss  to-day.  The  prophet,  or  rather,  God  him- 
self, saith  to  us  by  the  prophet,  "  My  thoughts  are 
not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways  : 
For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are 
my  ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts 
than  your  thoughts." 

Three  things  are  necessary  to  explain  the  text. 

I.  The  meaning  must  be  restrained. 

II.  The  object  must  be  determined. 

III.  The  proofs  must  be  produced.  And  this  is 
the  whole  plan  of  my  discourse. 

I.  The  words  of  my  text  must  be  restrained. 
Strictly  speaking,  it  cannot  be  said,  that  God's 
thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts,  and  that  his  rvays  are 
not  our  ways  :  on  the  contrary,  it  is  certain,  that 
in  many  respects,  God's  ways  are  our  ways,  and  his 
thoughts  are  our  thoughts.  I  mean,  that  there  are 
many  cases,  in  which  we  may  assure  ourselves  that 
God  thinks  so  and  so,  and  will  observe  such  or  such 
a  conduct.  The  doctrine  of  the  incomprehensibili- 
ty of  God  is  one  of  those  doctrines  which  w^e  ought 
to  defend  with  the  greatest  zeal,  because  it  hath  a 
mighty  influence  in  religion  and  morality  :  but  it 
would  become  a  subversion  of  both,  were  it  to  be 
carried  beyond  its  just  bounds.  Libertines  have 
made  fewer  proselytes  by  denying  the  existence  of 
God  than  by  abusing  the  doctrine  of  his  inconceiva- 
bleness.    It  makes  but  little  impression  on  a  ration- 


258  The  IncomprehensihiKty 

al  man,  to  be  told,  that  matter  is  eternal ;  that  it  ar- 
ranged itself  in  its  present  order ;  that  chance  spread 
the  firmament,  formed  the  heavenly  orbs,  fixed  the 
earth  on  its  basis,  and  wrought  all  the  wonders  in 
the  material  world.  It  makes  but  little  impres- 
sion on  a  rational  man,  to  be  informed,  that  the  in- 
telligent world  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  same  cause 
to  which  libertines  attribute  the  material  world ; 
that  chance  formed  spirit  as  well  as  matter,  gave  it 
the  power,  not  only  of  reflecting  on  its  own  essence, 
but  also  of  going  out  of  itself,  of  transporting  itself 
into  the  past  ages  of  eternity,  of  rising  into  the  hea- 
vens by  its  meditation,  of  pervading  the  earth,  and 
investigating  its  darkest  recesses.  All  these  extrav- 
agant propositions  refute  themselves,  and  hardly  find 
one  partisan  in  such  an  enlightened  age  as  this,  in 
which  we  have  the  happiness  to  live. 

There  are  other  means  more  likely  to  subvert  the 
faith.  To  give  grand  ideas  of  the  Supreme  Being ; 
to  plunge,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  the  little 
mind  of  man  into  the  ocean  of  the  divine  perfections ; 
to  contrast  the  supreme  grandeur  of  the  Creator 
with  the  insignificance  of  the  creature;  to  persuade 
mankind  that  the  great  Supreme  is  too  lofty  to  con- 
cern himself  with  us,  that  our  conduct  is  entirely 
indifferent  to  him;  that  it  signifies  nothing  to  him 
whether  we  be  just  or  unjust,  humane  or  cruel,  hap- 
py or  miserable :  To  say  in  these  senses,  that  God's 
ways  are  not  our  rvays,  that  his  thoughts  are  not  our 
thoughts,  these  are  the  arms  that  infidelity  hath 
sometimes  employed  Avith  success,  and  against  the 
attacks  of  which  we  would  guard  you.     For  these 


of  the  Mercy  of  God.  289 

reasons,  I  said,  that  the  meaning  of  the  text  must  be 
restrained,  or  that  it  would  totally  subvert  religion 
and  morality. 

We  have  seldom  met  with  a  proposition  more  ex- 
travagant than  that  of  a  certain  bishop,^  who,  hav- 
ing spent  his  life  in  defending  the  gospel,  endeav- 
oured at  his  death  to  subvert  it.  This  man,  in  a 
book  entitled,  The  Imperfection  of  the  Human  Mind, 
and  which  is  itself  an  example  of  the  utmost  degree 
of  the  extravagance  of  the  human  mind,  maintains 
this  proposition,  and  makes  it  the  ground  of  all  his 
scepticism :  that  before  we  affirm  any  thing  of  a 
subject  we  must  perfectly  understand  it.  From 
hence  he  concludes,  that  we  can  affirm  nothing 
of  any  subject,  because  we  do  not  perfectly  un- 
derstand any.  And  from  hence  it  naturally  fol- 
lows, that  of  the  Supreme  Being  we  have  the  least 
pretence  to  affirm  any  thing,  because  we  have  a  less 
perfect  knowledge  of  him  than  of  any  other  subject. 
W  hat  absurd  reasoning  !  it  is  needless  to  refute  it 
here,  and  it  shall  suffice  at  present  to  observe  in 
general,  that  the  ignorance  of  one  part  of  a  subject 
doth  not  hinder  the  knowing  of  other  parts  of  it,  nor 
ought  it  to  hinder  our  affirmation  of  what  we  do 

*  Peter  Daniel  Huet,  bishop  of  Avranches,  a  countryman  of 
our  author's.  He  was  a  man  of  uncommon  learning,  and,  in  jus- 
tice to  Christianity,  as  well  as  to  his  lordship,  it  ought  to  be  re- 
membered, that  he  wrote  his  demonstratio  evangelica  in  the  vig- 
our of  his  life  ;  but  his  traite  fihilosofihique  de  la  foiblesse  de  l*es'_ 
prit  humaine^  of  which  Mons.  Saurin  complains,  was  written  more 
than  forty  years  after,  when  he  was  ninety  years  of  age,  and  was 
superannuated.  Father  Castell,  the  Jesuit,  denies  that  it  was 
written  by  Huet  at  all. 

VOL.  I.  37 


290  The  Incomprehensibility 

know.  I  do  not  perfectly  understand  the  nature  of 
liffht;  however  I  do  know  that  it  differs  from  dark- 
ness,  and  that  it  is  the  medium  by  which  objects  be- 
come visible  to  me.  And  the  same  may  be  affirmed 
of  other  subjects. 

In  like  manner,  the  exercise  of  my  reasoning  pow- 
ers, produceth  in  me  some  incontestible  notions  of 
God,  and,  from  these  notions,  immediately  follow 
some  sure  consequences,  which  become  the  im- 
moveable basis  of  my  faith  in  his  word,  of  my 
submission  to  his  will,  and  of  my  confidence  in  his 
promises.  These  notions,  and  these  consequences, 
compose  the  body  of  natural  religion.  There  is  a 
self-existent  Being.  The  existence  of  all  creatures 
is  derived  from  the  self-existent  Being,  and  he  is 
the  only  source  of  all  their  perfections.  That  Be- 
ing, who  is  the  source  of  the  perfections  of  all  other 
beings,  is  more  powerful  than  the  most  powerful 
monarchs,  because  the  most  powerful  monarchs  de- 
rive only  a  finite  power  from  him.  He  is  wiser  than 
the  most  consummate  politicians,  because  the  most 
consummate  politicians  derive  only  a  finite  wisdom 
from  him.  His  knowledge  exceeds  that  of  the 
most  knowing  philosophers,  or  of  the  most  trans- 
cendent geniusses,  because  the  most  transcendent 
geniusses  and  the  most  knowing  philosophers  derive 
only  a  finite  knowledge  from  him.  And  the  same 
may  be  said  of  others.  There  are  then  some  incon- 
testible  notions,  which  reason  gives  us  of  God. 

From  these  notions  follow  some  sure  and  neces- 
sary consequences.  If  all  creatures  derive  their  be- 
ing and  preservation  from  him,  I  owe  to  him  all  that 


of  the  Mercy  of  God.  291 

I  am,  and  all  that  I  have,  he  is  the  sole  object  of  my 
desires  and  hopes,  and  I  am  necessarily  engaged  to 
be  grateful  for  his  favours,  and  entirely  submissive 
to  his  will.  If  creature-perfections  be  only  emana- 
tions from  him,  the  source  of  all  perfections,  I  ought 
to  have  nobler  sentiments  of  his  perfections,  than  of 
those  of  creatures,  how  elevated  soever  the  latter 
may  be.  I  ought  to  fear  him  more  than  I  ought  to 
fear  the  mightiest  king,  because  the  power  of  the 
mightiest  king  is  only  an  emanation  from  him.  I  ought 
to  commit  myself  to  his  duection,  and  to  trust  more 
to  his  wisdom  than  to  that  of  the  wisest  politician, 
because  the  prudence  of  the  wisest  politician  is  only 
an  emanation  from  him :  And  so  of  the  rest.  Let  it  be 
granted,  that  God  is,  in  many  respects,  quite  incom- 
prehensible, that  we  can  attain  only  a  small  degree 
of  knowledge  of  this  infinite  object,  or,  to  use  the 
words  of  our  text,  that  his  thoughts  are  not  our 
thoughts,  nor  his  ways  our  ways :  yet  it  will  not  fol- 
low, that  the  notions,  which  reason  gives  us  of  him, 
are  less  just,  or,  that  the  consequences,  which  imme^ 
diately  foUoAv  these  notions,  are  less  sure ;  or,  that 
all  the  objections,  which  libertines  and  sceptics  pre- 
tend to  derive  from  the  doctrine  of  the  incomprehen- 
sibility of  God,  against  natural  religion,  do  not  eva- 
porate and  disappear. 

If  reason  affords  us  some  adequate  notions  of 
God,  if  some  necessary  consequences  follow  these 
notions ;  for  a  much  stronger  reason,  we  may  derive 
some  adequate  notions  of  God,  and  some  sure  con- 
sequences, from  revelation.  It  is  a  very  extrava- 
gant and  sophistical  way  of  reasoning  to  allege  the 


292  The  Incomprehensibility 

darkness  of  revelation  upon  this  subject,  in  order 
to  obsure  the  light  that  it  doth  afford  us.  These 
words,  my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts^  neither  art 
my  ways  your  waysy  do  not  mean,  then,  that  we 
can  know  nothing  of  the  divine  essence ;  that  we  can- 
not certainly  discover  in  what  cases  he  will  approve 
of  our  conduct,  and  in  what  cases  he  will  condemn 
it :  they  only  mean,  that  finite  minds  cannot  form 
complete  ideas  of  God,  know  the  whole  sphere  of 
his  attributes,  or  certainly  foresee  all  the  effects  that 
they  can  produce.  Thus  we  have  endeavoured  to 
restrain  the  words  of  the  text. 

II.  We  are  to  determine  their  object.  The  pro- 
phet's expressions  would  have  been  true,  had  they 
been  applied  to  all  the  attributes  of  God :  however, 
they  are  applied  here  only  to  one  of  them,  that  is, 
to  his  goodness.  The  connection  of  the  text  with 
tlie  preceding  verses  proves  this.  "  Seek  ye  the 
Lord  while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon  him  while 
he  is  near.  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 
unrighteous  man  his  thoughts :  and  let  him  retm-n 
unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him ; 
and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon,"  ver. 
6,  7.  The  text  immediately  follows :  "  For  my 
thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your 
ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord."  It  is  clear,  I  think, 
that  the  last  words,  "  my  thoughts  are  not  your 
thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,"  directly 
relate  to  the  preceding  clause,  "  the  Lord  will  have 
mercy  upon  him,  and  our  God  will  abundantly  par- 
don." AVherein  do  the  thoughts  of  God  differ  from 
om's  ?  In  this  sense  they  differ :  In  God  there  are 


of  the  Mercy  of  God.  293 

treasures  of  mercy,  the  depth  of  which  no  finite 
mind  can  fathom.  In  him  goodness  is  as  inconceiv- 
able as  all  his  other  attributes.  In  God,  a  sinner, 
who  seems  to  have  carried  his  sin  to  its  utmost  ex- 
travagance, and  to  have  exhausted  all  the  treasures 
of  divine  grace,  shall  still  find,  if  he  return  unto  the 
Lord,  and  cast  himself  at  the  foot  of  him,  who  abun- 
dantly pardoneth,  a  goodness,  a  compassion,  a  love 
that  he  could  not  have  imagined  to  find. 

When  we  speak  of  the  goodness  of  God,  we  mean, 
not  only  that  perfection  which  inclines  him  to  com- 
municate natural  benefits  to  all  creatures,  and  which 
hath  occasioned  the  inspired  writers  to  say,  that  All 
creatures  wait  upon  him,  that  he  may  give  them  their 
meat  in  due  season,  Psa.  civ.  27.  that  he  left  not  him- 
self without  witness  in  doing  good,  Acts  xiv.  17.  But 
we  mean,  m  a  more  especial  manner,  the  grace  of 
the  gospel,  of  which  the  prophet  speaks  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  chapter ;  "  Ho,  every  one  that  thirst- 
eth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no 
money,  come  ye  buy  and  eat  ;  yea,  come  buy  wine 
and  milk  v»ithout  money,  and  without  price.  In- 
cline your  ear,  and  come  unto  me  :  hear,  and  your 
soul  shall  live  :  and  I  will  make  an  everlasting  cov- 
enant with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David. 
Behold  I  have  given  him  for  a  witness  to  the  peo- 
ple, a  leader  and  commander  to  the  people,"  ver. 
1,  3,  4.  Who  is  this  leader  whom  God  gave  to  be  a 
witness  to  the  people,  that  is,  to  manifest  his  attributes 
to  the  Gentiles  ?  What  is  this  everlasting  covenant? 
W^hat  are  these  sure  mercies  of  David  !  Two  sorts 
of  authors  deserve  to  be  heard  on  this  article,  though 


294  The  Incofnprehensihility 

on  different  accounts,  the  first  for  their  ignorance 
and  prejudice,  the  last  for  their  knowledge  and  im- 
partiality. The  first  are  the  Jews,  who  in  spite  of 
their  obstinate  blindness,  cannot  help  owning  that 
these  words  promise  the  advent  of  the  Messiah. 
Rabbi  David  Kimchi  gives  this  exposition  of  the 
words :  "  The  sure  mercies  of  David,  that  is  the 
Messiah,  whom  Ezekiel  calls  David.  They  shall 
dw^ll  in  the  land  that  I  have  given  them,  tliey,  and 
their  children,  and  their  children's  children  for 
ever ;  and  my  sei^ant  David  shall  be  their  prince 
for  ever,"  Ezek.  xxxvii.  25.  1  purposely  pass  by 
many  similar  passages  of  other  Jev>^ish  Rabbies. 
The  other  authors  whom  we  ouo^ht  to  hear  for  their 
impartial  knowledge,  are  the  inspired  writers,  and 
particularly  St.  Paul,  whose  comment  on  this  pas- 
sage, which  he  gave  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  deter- 
mines its  meaning.  There  the  apostle,  having  at- 
tested the  truth  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ, 
affirms  that  the  prophets  had  foretold  that  event; 
and  among  other  passages,  which  he  alleged  in 
proof  of  what  he  had  advanced,  quotes  this,  "  I  will 
give  you  the  sure  mercies  of  David,"  Acts  xiii.  34. 
From  all  which  it  follows,  that  the  object  of  our  text 
is  the  goodness  of  God,  and  in  an  especial  manner, 
the  love  that  he  hath  manifested  unto  us  in  the  gos- 
pel :  and  this  is  what  we  undertook  to  prove. 

Such  vicAvs  of  the  grandeur  of  God  are  sublime 
and  delightful.  The  divine  perfections  are  the  most 
sublime  objects  of  meditation.  It  is  glorious  to  sur- 
mount the  little  circle  of  objects  that  surround  us, 
to  revolve  in  a  contemplation  of  God,  in  whose  in- 


of  the  Mercij  of  God.  295 

finite  perfections  intelligent  beings  will  for  ever  find 
matter  sufficient  to  employ  all  their  intelligence. 
Behold  the  inspired  writers,  they  were  fond  of  los- 
ing their  capacities  in  this  lovely  prospect.  Some- 
times they  stood  on  the  borders  of  the  eternity  of 
God,  and  viewing  that  boundless  ocean,  exclaimed, 
"  Before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth,  or  ever 
thou  hadst  formed  the  earth  and  the  world:  even 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting  thou  art  God.  A  thou- 
sand years  in  thy  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  when 
it  is  past,  and  as  a  watch  in  the  night,"  Psa.  xc.  2, 
4.  Sometimes  they  meditated  on  his  power,  and 
contemplating  the  number  and  variety  of  his  works, 
exclaimed,  "  O  Lord,  our  Lord,  how  excellent  is 
thy  name  in  all  the  earth !  who  hast  set  thy  glory 
above  the  heavens.  When  w^e  consider  thy  hea- 
vens, the  work  of  thy  fingers :  the  moon  and  the 
stars  which  thou  hast  ordained ;  What  is  man,  that 
thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  and  the  Son  of  man,  that 
thou  visitest  him  ?"  Psa.  viii.  1,  3,  4.  Sometimes 
theii'  attention  was  fixed  on  the  immensity  of  God, 
and  contemplating  it,  they  exclaimed,  "  Whither 
shall  we  go  from  thy  spirit  ?  or  whither  shall  w^e  flee 
from  thy  presence  ?  If  w^e  ascend  up  into  heaven, 
thou  art  there,  if  we  make  our  bed  in  hell,  behold 
thou  art  there :  If  we  take  the  wings  of  the  morn- 
ing, and  dwell  in  the  utmost  parts  of  the  sea ;  even 
there  shall  thy  hand  lead  us,  and  thy  right  hand 
shall  hold  us,"  Psal.  cxxxix.  7,  8,  9,  10,  But,  how- 
ever agreeable  these  objects  of  meditation  may  be, 
there  is  something  mortifying  and  distressing  in 
them.     The  more  we  discover  the  grandeur  of  the 


296  The  Incomprehensibility 

Supreme  Being,  the  greater  distance  we  perceive 
between  ourselves  and  him.  We  perceive  him  in- 
deed: but  it  is  as  an  inhabitant  of  "light  which  no 
man  can  approach  unto,"  1  Tim.  iv.  16.  and  from 
all  our  efforts  to  know  him  we  derive  this  reflec- 
tion of  the  prophet,  "  Such  knowledge  is  too  won- 
derful for  me  :  it  is  high ;  I  cannot  attain  unto  it," 
Psa.  cxxxix.  6. 

But  the  meditation  of  the  goodness  of  God  is  as 
full  of  consolation  as  it  is  of  sublimity.  This  ocean 
of  the  Deity  is  an  ocean  of  love.  These  dimensions 
that  surpass  your  knowledge,  are  dimensions  of  love. 
These  distances,  a  part  only  of  which  are  visible  to 
you,  are  depths  of  mercy,  and  those  words  which 
God  hath  addressed  to  you,  "  my  thoughts  are  not 
your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways," 
are  equal  to  these :  As  far  as  heaven  is  above  the 
earth;  or  more  fully,  as  far  as  ye  finite  creatures 
are  inferior  to  me  the  infinite  God,  so  far  are  your 
ideas  of  my  compassion  and  love  to  you  inferior  to 
my  pity  and  esteem  for  you :  Try :  "  Let  the  wick- 
ed forsake  his  way,  and  the  unrighteous  man  his 
thoughts ;"  let  not  the  multitude,  or  the  enormity 
of  his  crimes  terrify  him  into  a  despair  of  obtaining 
the  pardon  of  them :  "  Let  him  return  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him ;  and  to 
our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon.  For  my 
thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your 
ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens 
are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways  high- 
er than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your 
thoughts."      Having   thus   determined   the   object, 


of  the  Mercy  of  God,  297 

and  restrained  the  meaning  of  tlie  text,  we  shall  pro- 
ceed to  adduce  the  proofs. 

III.  The  prophet  addresseth  himself  to  two  sorts 
of  people;  first,  to  the  heathens,  who  knew  no  more 
of  the  goodness  of  God  than  what  they  had  discov- 
ered by  the  glimmering  light  of  nature  :  next,  to 
some  Jews,  or  to  some  Cluistinns,  who,  indeed 
knew  it  by  the  light  of  revelation,  but  who  had  not 
so  high  a  notion  of  it  as  to  believe  it  sufficient  to 
pardon  all  their  sins.  To  both  he  saith  on  the  part 
of  God;  "  My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  nei- 
ther are  your  ways  my  ways."  "  My  thoughts  are 
not  your  thoughts,"  ye  Gentile  philosophers.  Ye 
know^  my  goodness  only  by  your  speculations  on 
the  nature  of  the  Supreme  Being :  but  all  that  ye 
discover  in  this  way,  is  nothing  in  comparison  of 
what  the  Messiah  will  teach  you  in  the  gospel. 
"  My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,"  ye  timorous 
consciences,  ye  gloomy  and  melancholy  minds.  Be- 
hold, I  yet  open  to  you  treasures  of  mercy,  which 
ye  thought  ye  had  exhausted  :  "  My  thoughts  are 
not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways : 
For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are 
my  ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts 
than  your  thoughts." 

First,  The  prophet  addresseth  heathens,  who  had 
no  other  knowledge  of  God  than  a  few  specula- 
tions on  the  nature  of  the  First  Being;  and  who 
were  never  able  to  discover  three  mysteries  of  di- 
vine love. 

1.  The  mean  by  which  God  conciliated  his  justice 
with  his  love. 

VOL.  I.  38 


298  The  Incomprehens^ibilUy 

2.  His  patience  with  those  who  abuse  this  mean. 

3.  His  intimate  union  with  those  who  fall  in  with 
the  design  of  his  patience. 

1.  The  first  mystery  of  love,  wliich  the  wisest  pa- 
gan philosophers  could  never  discover,  is  the  mean 
that  God  hath  chosen  to  conciliate  his  justice  with 
his  love. 

Let  us  carefully  avoid  the  forming  of  mean  no- 
tions  of  God ;  let  us  not  imagine  that  the  attributes 
of  God  clash  :  No,  God  is  perfectly  consistent  with 
himself,  and  his  attributes  mutually  support  each 
other.  When  we  say  that  the  love  of  God  resisted 
his  justice,  we  mean  that,  according  to  our  way  of 
thinking,  there  were  some  inconveniences  in  deter- 
mininfc  the  fate  of  mankind  after  the  entrance  of  sin. 
In  effect,  what  must  become  of  this  race  of  rebels  ? 
Shall  God  execute  that  sentence  on  them,  which  he 
hath  pronounced  against  sin  ?  But  chains  of  dark- 
ness, a  lake  burning  with  fire  and  brimstone,  weep- 
ing and  wailing  through  an  endless  eternity,  excite 
the  compassion  of  a  merciful  God  :  Shall  he  then  al- 
low these  unworthy  creatures  to  live  under  his  pro- 
lection  ?  Shall  so  many  idle  words,  so  many  crimi- 
nal thoughts,  so  many  iniquitous  actions,  so  much 
blasphemy,  so  many  extortions,  the  shedding  of  so 
much  innocent  blood,  shall  all  these  go  unpunish- 
ed ?  But,  were  these  allowed,  his  love  of  order  and 
his  veracity  would  be  blemished.  These  are  diffi- 
culties which  all  the  universe  could  not  solve.  This 
is  the  book,  of  which  St.  John  speaks  in  his  Revela- 
tion, the  book  scaled  with  seven  seals  ;  I  wept  miichy 
saith  St.  John,  because  no  man  was  found  ivorthy  to 


o/  the  Mercy  of  God.  299 

open  and  to  read  the  book :  hut  rvorthy  is  the  Iamb  to 
take  the  book,  and  to  open  the  seeds,  Rev.  v.  4,  9. 

From  the  depth  of  divine  mercy  proceeds  a  plan 
for  the  solution  of  all  these  difficulties.     The  son  of 
God  clothes  himself  with  mortal  flesh.     He  saith, 
from  his  infancy,   In  sacrifices  for  sin  thou  hast  no 
pleasure  !  Heb.  x.  6.    No,  neither  burnt-offerings  nor 
thousands  of  rams ;  neither  altars  overflowing  witii 
blood,  nor  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil ;  neitlier  the 
Jirst  born  for  the  transgression,  nor  all  the  fruit  of 
the  body  for  the  sin  of  the  soul :  (IMicah  vi.  6,  7.)  no, 
none  of  these  is  an  offering  wortliy  of  being  pre- 
sented to  thy  justice:  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  O 
God :  (Heb.  x.  7.)  J^o,  I  come  to  do  that  will  which 
requires  the  punishment  of  sin  and  the  salvation  of 
the   sinner.     Lo,  I  come  to  be  led  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  and  to  be  dumb  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers, 
Lo,  I  am  coming  to  suffer  the  a  ery  men  for  whose 
salvation  I  come,  to  treat  me  as  a  malefactor ;  yea, 
moreover,  I  am  coming  to  suffer  the  hidings  of  that 
adorable  face,  which  hath  always  hitherto  afforded 
me  di  fulness  of  joy,  Psal.  xvi.  11.     I  am  coming  to 
suffer  a  suspension  of  that  love,  which  is  all  my  de- 
light, and  to  cry  under  excessive  sorrows,  My  God, 
my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me !  JMat,  xxvii.  46. 
VYe  must  necessarily  sink  under  the  Aveight  of  this 
subject,  my  brethren,  and  we  must  be  content  to  see 
only  par/5  of  the  ways  of  love.     We  must  determine 
only  to  take  a  slight  survey  of  the  breadth  and  length, 
and  depth  and  height  of  the  love  of  God,  we  must  own 
that  it  passeth  knowledge,  Eph.  iii.  18,  19.  and  that 
these  are  things  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard. 


300  The  IncompreJiensihiliiy 

neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  I  Cor.  ii.  9v 
We  must  confess  that  if  we  were  not  able  to  oive 
this  general  answer  to  the  objections  that  are  made 
against  the  mysteries  of  religion,  that  is,  that  the 
attributes  of  God  are  infinite,  and  that  it  doth  not 
belong  to  such  finite  minds  as  ours  to  limit  the  in- 
finite God,  we  should  be  overwhelmed  with  the  dif- 
ficulties to  which  the  marvels  of  redemption  are  li- 
able to  be  exposed.  Let  us  rejoice  in  the  prospect 
of  that  happy  period,  in  which  our  faculties  will  be 
expanded,  and  in  which  we  shall  make  a  more  rapid 
progress  in  the  study  of  the  love  of  God.  In  the 
present  period  of  infirmities  let  us  be  content  with 
the  solution  in  our  text ;  "  My  thoughts  are  not  your 
thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith  the 
Lord.  For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth, 
so  are  my  ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  my 
thoughts  than  your  thoughts." 

2.  But  in  what  manner  have  these  miserable  sin- 
ners, (and  this  will  explain  the  second  mystery  of 
love,  which  reason  could  never  have  discovered) 
in  what  manner  have  these  miserable  sinners,  whom 
the  justice  of  God  condemns  to  eternal  torments, 
received  the  declaration  of  their  pardon?  With 
what  eyes  have  they  considered  the  miracle  of  an 
incarnate  God?  How  have  they  regarded  that  al- 
tar, on  which  such  a  noble  victim  was  sacrificed  for 
thek  salvation?  Have  thek  eyes  been  fountains  of 
tears,  to  lament  the  crimes  that  brought  down  such 
a  deluge  of  punishments  upon  the  head  of  the  Re- 
deemer of  mankind?  Have  they  received  the  Re- 
deemer with  such  tenderness  and  gratitude  as  the 


of  the  Mercy  of  God.  301 

wonders  of  his  love  requked  ?  No :  The  unbeliev- 
ing synagogue,  the  Jews,  or,  to  pass  the  Jews, 
Christians,  we,  my  brethren,  who  profess  to  be- 
lieve the  mystery  of  the  cross :  we,  wlio  every  day 
say,  We  believe  in  Jesus  Chfisty  who  ivas  horn  of  the 
virgin  Mary,  who  was  crucified,  dead,  and  buried,  ^ve 
can  hear  of  tliose  great  mysteries  with  indifference  ; 
we  can  persist  in  the  very  sins  that  brought  our 
Redeemer  to  the  cross  ;  we  can  refuse  to  give  up 
a  few  inches  of  earth,  a  small  sum  of  money,  the 
playing  of  an  idle  game,  or  the  gratifying  of  an  ab- 
surd passion,  to  him  who  sacrificed  for  us  his  per- 
son and  his  life  ;  we  can  "  do  despite  unto  the  Spir- 
it of  grace,  and  count  the  blood  of  the  covenant 
an  unholy  thing,"  Heb.  x.  9.  God  is  witness  of  all 
these  things ;  God  holds  the  thunders  in  his  migh- 
ty hands ;  wars  and  plagues,  and  earthquakes,  wait 
only  for  the  first  signal  of  his  will  to  avenge  those 
numerous  indignities :  Yet  God,  who  beholds  those 
indignities,  bears  with  them.  This  man,  saith  the 
love  of  God,  is  precipitated  by  the  heat  and  vigour 
of  youth,  perhaps  he  may  reflect  when  he  arrives 
at  the  tranquillity  of  mature  age ;  he  shall  be  spar- 
ed then  till  he  arrives  at  maturity  :  or,  perhaps  he 
may  recollect  himself  in  the  coolness  of  old  age, 
he  shall  be  spared  then  till  the  grave  coolness  of  old 
age  comes.  That  man  hath  been  a  rebel  in  his 
health,  perhaps  he  may  submit  when  he  is  sick; 
be  shall  be  spared  till  sickness  comes ;  and  he  shall 
be  sought,  exhorted,  conjured  ;  I  will  say  to  him, 
"  O  that  thou  hadst  hearkened  unto  me  !"  Psal.  Ixxxi. 
13.     "  Be  thou  instructed,  lest  my  soul  depart  from 


502  The  IncomprehensibilUi/ 

thee  !"  Jer.  vi.  8.  "  O  thou  who  killest  the  prophets, 
and  stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  of- 
ten would  I  have  gathered  thee,  even  as  a  hen  gath- 
ereth  her  chic  kens  under  her  wings,  and  thou  would- 
est  not !"  Mai.  xxiii.  37.  And  it  is  the  great  God, 
who  speaks  in  this  manner  to  his  ungrateful  crea- 
ture, who  is  insensible  to  such  tender  language ! 

3.  The  third  mystery  of  love,  which  the  wisest 
philosophers  could  never  have  discovered,  is  the  un- 
ion that  God  forms  with  man  in  religion.  What 
tender  relation  canst  thou  imagine,  which  God  hath 
not  determined  to  form  with  thee  in  religion  ?  Art 
thou  sensible  to  the  vigilance  of  a  shepherd  ?  "  The 
Lord  is  thy  shepherd,  thou  shalt  not  want,"  Psa. 
xxiii.  1.  Art  thou  sensible  to  the  confidence  of  a 
friend  ?  "  I  call  thee  not  a  servant,  but  a  friend  ?" 
John  XV.  15.  Art  thou  sensible  to  the  tenderness 
of  a  parent  ?  "  Behold  what  manner  of  love  the  fa- 
ther hath  bestowed  upon  thee,  that  thou  shouldest 
be  called  a  son  of  God !"  1  John  iii.  1.  I  should 
allege  many  other  images  of  the  love  of  God  to  be- 
lievers, if  I  could  flatter  myself,  that  the  imagina- 
tions of  my  hearers  would  be  as  pure  as  those  of  the 
sacred  authors  who  have  described  them. 

Art  thou  disgusted  with  human  connections?  Are 
thine  ideas  of  friendship  so  refined  that  they  render 
thee  superior  to  human  unions,  and  make  thee  wish 
for  a  friendship  formed  on  a  nobler  plan  ?  God  hath 
determined  that  thou  shalt  be  united  to  him  as  Jesus 
Christ  and  he  are  united:  an  union  at  present  incon- 
ceivable, but  which  we  shall  happily  experience  in 
the  enlarged  sphere  of  an  immortal  life,  John  xvii. 


ef  the  Mercy  of  God.  303 

20, 21.  Let  us  acknowledge  then,  that  all  the  pene- 
tration of  the  wisest  philosophers  could  never  have 
discovered  the  extent  of  the  love  of  God  in  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  gospel.  "  My  thoughts  are  not 
yourthouglits,  neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith 
the  Lord.  For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the 
earth,  so  are  my  ways  higl^er  than  your  ways,  and 
my  thoughts  than  your  thoughts." 

Secondly,  Let  us  address  the  text  to  the  gloomy 
mind  of  a  melancholy  person,  who,  having  failed  in 
the  courage  necessary  to  resist  temptations,  fails 
again  in  that  which  is  necessary  to  bear  the  thought 
of  having  fallen  into  them.  But,  before  we  oppose 
or  describe  this  weakness,  let  us  grant  that  there  is 
something  in  it  which  deserves  respect.  The  great- 
est part  of  those  who  treat  it  as  an  extravagance, 
seem  to  me  far  more  extravagant  than  those  who 
fall  into  it.  Yes,  the  utmost  excess  of  grief  that 
can  be  occasioned  by  the  remembrance  of  sin,  seems 
to  me  incomparably  less  blameable  than  the  exces- 
sive tranquillity  of  some  other  people's  minds.  Who 
(think  ye  ?)  is  most  extravagant,  he  wiio  is  too  much 
affected  with  the  enormity  of  his  sins,  or  he  who  is 
not  affected  enough  ?  Is  it  he  who,  notwithstanding; 
his  sorrows  and  regrets,  dare  not  venture  to  believe 
himself  an  object  of  divine  compassion;  or  he  who, 
having  no  contrition,  nor  shedding  any  tears  of  re- 
pentance, presumes  on  that  cotnpassion  ?  Is  it  he, 
whom  the  bare  probability  of  being  punished  for  his 
sins,  of  being  eternally  laden  w  ith  chains  of  dark- 
mesSy  of  being  an  eternal  prey  to  the  worm  that  never 
diith,  2  Pet.  ii.  4.  and  of  becoming  fuel  for  that  fire 


304  The  Incomprehensihility 

which  shall  never  he  quenched^  Mark  ix.  44,  45.  de- 
priveth  of  his  rest,  of  a  relish  for  the  sweets  of  soci- 
ety, and  of  all  inclination  to  enjoy  the  most  insinua- 
ting pleasures ;  or,  is  it  he  who,  in  spite  of  so  many 
reasons  to  fear  his  dangerous  state,  eats,  drinks,  di- 
verts himself,  runs  from  company  to  company,  from 
ciide  to  circle,  and  employs  the  moments,  that  are 
given  him  to  avoid  his  miseries,  in  inventing  the 
most  effectual  means  of  forgetting  them  ?  I  repeat  it 
again,  a  melancholy,  that  is  occasioned  by  the  re- 
membrance of  sin,  hath  something  respectable  in  it, 
and  the  greatest  part  of  those  who  treat  it  altogeth- 
er as  an  absurditv,  are  more  absurd  than  those  who 
fall  into  it. 

I  intend,  however,  in  this  part  of  my  discourse, 
to  oppose  this  melancholy  gloom.  And  thanks  be 
to  those  divine  mercies,  the  grandeur  of  w^hich  I 
am  this  day  commending,  for  furnishing  me  with  so 
many  means  of  opposing  this  disposition,  independ- 
ently on  the  words  of  my  text.  What  a  multitude 
of  reflections  present  themselves  beside  those  which 
arise  from  the  subject  in  hand  ! 

What  madness  possesseth  thy  melancholy  mind  ? 
The  Holy  Spirit  assures  thee,  that  though  thy  sins 
he  as  scarlet  he  will  make  them  as  white  as  snow ; 
that  though  they  he  red  as  crimson  he  will  make  them 
as  white  as  7Vool,''  Isa.  i.  18.  and  dost  thou  think  that 
thy  sins  are  too  aggravated  to  be  pardoned  in  this 
manner  ? 

The  Holy  Spirit  gives  thee  a  long  list  of  the  most 
execrable  names  in  nature ;  a  list  of  idolaters,  mur- 
derers, extortioners,   adulterers,   persecutors,  high- 


of  the  Mercy  of  God,  305 

way  robbers,  and  blasphemers,  who  obtained  mercy 
when  they  desired  and  sought  it :  and  art  thou  ob- 
stinately bent  on  excluding  thyself  from  the  num- 
ber of  those  sinners,  to  whom  mercy  is  promised  ; 
and,  because  thou  dost  not  believe  it  attainable,  dost 
thou  obstinately  refuse  to  ask  for  it? 

The  Holy  Spirit  hath  lifted  up  an  ensign  for  the 
nations,  Isa.  xi.  12.  or,  to  speak  without  a  figure, 
the  Holy  Ghost  hath  lifted  up  a  cross,  and  on  that 
cross  a  Redeemer,  who  is  "  able  to  save  them  to  the 
uttermost  that  come  unto  God  by  him,'*  Heb.  vii, 
25.  and  who  himself  saith  to  all  sinners,  "  Come  un- 
to me,  all  ye  that  labour,  and  are  heavy  laden,  I 
will  give  you  rest,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your 
souls,"  Mat.  xi.  28,  29.  And  dost  thou  flee  from 
this  cross,  and  rather  choose  to  sink  under  the 
weight  of  thy  sins  than  to  disburden  them  on  a  Re- 
deemer, who  is  Avilling  to  bear  them  ? 

But,  passing  all  these,  let  us  return  to  the  text. 
"  My  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are 
your  ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord.  For  as  the 
heavens  are .  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways 
higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thouglits  than  your 
thoughts."  This  is  sufficient  to  refute,  this  is  enough 
to  subvert,  and  to  destroy,  the  whole  system  of  a 
despairing  mind.  The  perfections  of  God  are  infi- 
nite :  By  what  rule  then  dost  thou  pretend  to  "  lim- 
it tlie  holy  one  of  Israel,"  Ps.  Ixxviii.  41.  "  Canst 
thou  by  searching  find  out  God,"  Job  xi.  7.  Canst 
thou  find  out  the  eternity  of  him,  with  whom  "  a 
thousand  years  are  as  one  day,  and  one  day  as  a 
thousand  years,"  2  Pet  iii.  8.     Canst  thou  find  out 

VOL.  I.  39 


306  The  IncompreJiensihility 

the  extent  of  his  wisdom ;  a  wisdom  that  first  hr- 
\ented,  then  created,  that  governs  now,  and  will 
for  ever  govern,  both  the  material  and  intelligent 
worlds  ?  Behold,  "  his  understanding  is  infinite," 
Ps.  cxlvii.  5.  Canst  thou  find  out  the  power  of  him 
who  "  weighed  the  mountains  in  scales,  and  the 
hills  in  a  balance,"  Isa.  xl.  12.  who  "  taketh  up  the 
isles  as  a  very  little  thing  ?"  ver.  15. 

The  mercy  of  God  is  no  less  inconceivable  than 
the  rest  of  his  attributes.  The  nature  of  the  thing- 
proves  it ;  reason  declares  it ;  revelation  places  it  in 
the  clearest  light;  experience  confirms  it;  and  of 
his  mercy  God  saith  in  the  text,  "  My  thoughts  are 
not  your  thoughts,  neither  are  your  ways  ury  ways. 
For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are 
my  ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts 
than  your  thoughts." 

Your  thoughts  have  formed  a  gloomy  system,  and 
ye  think  that  God  can  pardon  a  first,  or  a  second, 
or  perhaps  a  third  sin,  but  ye  cannot  believe  that  he 
can  forgive  the  hundredth,  or  even  the  fortieth  of- 
fence :  But  God's  thoughts  are,  that  he  can  abund- 
antly pardon  ;  that  he  can  forgive  the  hundredth  of- 
fence, yea  the  thousandth  and  the  ten  thousandth, 
as  well  as  the  first  and  the  second,  if  ye  be  sincere- 
ly willing  to  renounce  them,  and  seriously  endeav- 
our to  reform  them. 

Ye  think,  agreeably  to  your  gloomy  system,  that 
God  doth  indeed  pardon  some  crimes,  but  that  there 
are  some  which  he  will  not  pardon  ;  that  he  some- 
times pardoneth  hatred,  but  that  he  will  never  for- 
give murder;  that  he  sometimes  pardoneth  sins  of 


^f  the  Mercy  of  God,  307 

infirmity,  but  that  he  will  never  forgive  sins  of  ob- 
stinacy ;  that  he  pardoneth  idle  words,  but  that  he 
will  never  forgive  blasphemies  :  But  God's  thoughts 
are  that  he  \v\\\  abundantly  pardon  j  that  he  will  par- 
don murder  as  well  as  hatred  ;  and  sins  of  obstinacy 
as  well  as  sins  of  infirmity  ;  provided  ye  be  sincere- 
ly willing  to  renounce  them,  and  seriously  endeav- 
our to  reform  them. 

Ye  think,  consistently  with  yoiu'  melancholy  sys- 
tem, that  God  may  perhaps  pardon  the  sins  of  a  few 
days,  or  of  a  few  months,  or  of  a  few  years ;  but 
that  he  cannot  forgive  the  sins  of  ten,  or  twenty 
years,  or  of  a  whole  life :  But  God  thinks  that  he 
can  abundantly  pardon  ;  that  he  can  forgive  the  sins 
often  years,  or  of  twenty,  or  of  a  w^hole  life,  as  well 
as  the  sins  of  one  day,  or  of  one  month,  or  of  one 
year;  if  ye  be  sincerely  willing  to  renounce  them, 
and  seriously  endeavour  to  reform  them. 

Your  thoughts  are  that  God  pardoneth  the  sins  of 
those  whom  he  hath  not  called  into  church-fellow- 
ship, nor  distinguished  by  particular  favours  :  But 
the  thoughts  of  God  are  that  he  will  abundantly  par- 
don; that  he  will  forgive  sins  committed  under  the 
Mosaic  dispensation  as  w^ell  as  those  that  have  been 
committed  under  the  dispensation  of  nature,  those 
that  have  been  committed  under  the  gospel  as  well 
as  those  that  have  been  committed  under  the  law, 
or  before  the  law  ;  if  ye  be  sincerely  willing  to  re- 
nounce, and  seriously  endeavour  to  reform  them. 
It  is  not  I,  it  is  the  prophet,  it  is  God  himself,  by  the 
prophet,  who  attests  these  truths :  "  Seek  ye  the 
Lord  while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon  him 


308  The  Incomprehensihility 

while  he  is  near.  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way, 
and  the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts  ;  and  let  him 
RETURN  UNTO  THE  LoRD,  and  he  will  have  mercy  up- 
on him ;  and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly 
PARDON.  For  my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts, 
neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord. 
For  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are 
my  ways  higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts 
than  your  thoughts." 

If  ye  sincerely /or5aA:e,  and  seriously  reform  them. 
Have  ye  not  been  surprised  at  the  frequent  repeti- 
tion of  this  clause  ?  This  clause,  however,  is  the 
ground  of  all  the  promises,  that  we  make  to  you  on 
God's  part.  The  chief  design  of  the  prophet  is  to 
produce  obedience  to  God,  and  in  this  we  w  ould 
wish  to  unite  this  whole  assembly.  Deprive  the 
text  of  this  clause,  and  the  rest  of  the  w^ords  are  not 
only  false  and  unwarrantable,  but  contradictory  to 
themselves,  and  injurious  to  that  God,  whose  mercy 
we  have  been  publishing.  We  have  no  consolation 
for  a  melancholy  man,  w  ho  is  resolved  to  persist  in 
his  sins.  We  have  no  remedy  against  despair,  w  hen 
the  despairing  man  refuseth  to  renounce  those  crimes, 
the  remembrance  of  which  causeth  all  his  distress 
and  despair. 

Ye  slanderers,  ye  false  accusers,  ye  pests  of  so- 
ciety, "  God  will  abundantly  pardon  you."  Yea, 
though  ye  have  been  wickedly  industrious  to  poison 
the  purest  words,  the  most  harmless  actions,  the  ho- 
liest intentions,  yet  ye  ought  not  to  despair  of  the 
mercy  of  God;  for  his  thoughts  are  not  as  your 
thoughts,  nor  his  ways  as  your  ways.    He  will  for- 


of  the  Mercy  of  God.  309 

give  all  your  sins,  if  ye  sincerely  forsake,  and  seri- 
ously reform  them  ;  if  ye  do  justice  to  the  innocence 
that  ye  have  attacked,  and  repair  the  reputation  that 
ye  have  damaged. 

Ye  unjust,  ye  oppressors,  ye  extortioners,  ye 
who,  as  well  as  your  ancestors,  have  lived  on  the  sub- 
stance of  the  wretched,  and  who  are  about  to  trans- 
mit an  accursed  patrimony  to  your  posterity,  God 
will  abundantly  pardon  you:  yea,  though  ye  have 
made  a  sale  of  justice,  negociated  the  blood  of  the 
miserable,  betrayed  the  state,  and  sold  your  country, 
yet  ye  ought  not  to  despak  of  the  mercy  of  God, 
for  ''  his  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts,  neither  are 
his  ways  your  ways."  All  these  sins  he  will  forgive, 
if  ye  endeavour  seriously  to  amend  them ;  if  ye  lay 
aside  those  equipages,  and  retrench  those  sumptuous 
festivals,  which  are  the  fruits  of  your  own,  and  of 
your  parents,  oppressions  and  extortions. 

Ye  sick,  ye  dying  people,  who  cannot  think  of 
your  momentary  life  without  thinking  of  those  sins, 
which  ye  have  been  perpetually  committing,  and  in 
the  multitude  and  magnitude  of  which  your  thoughts 
are  lost,  "  God  will  abundantly  pardon  you."  Though 
no  other  time  remains  to  conciliate  your  souls  to  God 
than  the  last  days  of  a  dying  illness,  the  slight  re- 
mains of  a  departing  life,  yet  ye  ought  not  to  despair 
of  the  mercy  of  God,  for  "  his  thoughts  are  not  as 
your  thoughts,  neither  are  his  ways  as  your  ways." 
He  will  forgive  all  your  sins,  if  ye  sincerely  forsake, 
and  seriously  reform  them  ;  if  ye  be  animated  not 
only  with  the  fear  of  death  and  hell,  but  with  a  sin- 
cere desire  of  returning  unto  the  Lord;  if  ye  do  not 


310  The  Incomprehensibility,  S{c, 

make  your  pastor  an  accomplice  in  your  sins ;  if  ye 
do  not  forbid  him  the  mentioning  of  some  of  your 
sins ;  if  ye  do  not  prevent  the  removal  of  that  vail, 
which  yet  hides  a  great  part  of  your  turpitude  from 
you ;  in  a  word,  if  ye  willingly  fall  in  with  all  the 
ways  of  repentance  and  reparation,  that  may  be 
opened  to  you. 

I  conclude  with  the  clause,  that  I  have  so  often 
repeated,  and  which  I  repeat  again,  (and  wo  be  to 
him  who  forgets  it !  wo  be  to  him  who,  by  his  per- 
severance in  sin,  rendereth  his  compliance  impossi- 
ble !)  if  ye  sincerely  forsake,  and  seriously  endeav- 
our to  reform  and  i^epau'  them.  I  give  you  a  sub- 
ject to  meditate  for  the  conclusion  of  this  discourse, 
(a  very  terrible  and  alarming  conclusion  for  those 
who  have  the  madness  to  turn  the  grace  of  God  into 
lasciviousness,)  Jude  4.  this  subject,  which  I  leave 
with  you  to  meditate,  is,  what  degree  of  punisliment 
in  hell  will  be  inflicted  upon  such  men  as  despise  the 
mercy  that  we  have  been  describing  ?  God  grant  that 
ye  may  never  be  able  to  answer  this  by  your  own 
experience !  Amen» 


SERMON  IX. 

The  Severity  of  God, 


>®< 


Hebrews  xii.  29. 
For  our  God  is  a  consuming Jire, 

JLT  is  a  very  deplorable  thing,  that  your  preachers 
can  never  expatiate  on  the  goodness  of  God,  with- 
out having  just  grounds  to  fear  that  ye  infer  danger- 
ous consequences  from  their  doctrine.  That  good- 
ness, of  which  God  hath  made  such  tender  declara- 
tions ;  that  goodness,  of  which  he  hath  given  us  such 
astonishing  proofs;  that  goodness,  which  seems  so 
proper  to  make  us  love  him  above  all  things ;  that 
goodness,  through  our  abuse  of  it,  contributes  the 
most,  to  rivet  our  infidelity,  and  to  increase  our  mis- 
ery. We  freely  acknowledge,  therefore,  that  with 
fear  and  trembling  we  endeavoured  last  Lord's  day 
to  display  its  greatness,  and,  though  all  our  portraits 
were  infinitely  beneath  the  original,  thougli  we  es- 
teemed it  then  our  happiness,  and  our  glory,  not  to 
be  able  to  reach  our  subject,  yet  Ave  have  been  afraid 
of  having  said  too  much.  When,  to  prevent  the  fa- 
tal effects  of  despau*,  we  assured  you,  that,  though 
ye  had  trafiicked  with  the  blood  of  the  oppressed,  or 
betrayed  the  state,  or  sold  your  country,  yet  ye 
might  derive  from  the  ocean  of  divine  mercy  a  par- 


3J2  The  Severity  of  God, 

don  for  all  these  crimes,  provided  ye  were  enabled 
sincerely  to  repent,  and  thoroughly  to  reform  them ; 
when  we  said  these  things,  we  revolved  in  our  minds 
these  discouraging  thoughts:  Perhaps  some  of  our 
hearers  may  poison  our  doctrine :  Perhaps  some 
monster,  of  which  nature  produceth  an  example  in 
every  age,  actually  saith  to  himself;  I  may  then, 
without  despairing  of  my  salvation,  traffic  with  the 
blood  of  the  oppressed,  betray  the  state,  sell  my 
country,  and,  having  spent  my  life  in  these  Avicked 
practices,  turn  to  God  on  my  death-bed.  Ye  will 
allow,  Ave  hope,  that  the  bare  probability  of  our  hav- 
ing occasioned  so  dangerous  a  Avound  ought  to  en- 
gage us  to  attempt  to  heal  it,  by  contrasting  to-day 
the  goodness  of  God  Avith  his  severity. 

The  text  that  Ave  have  chosen,  is  the  language  of 
St.  Paul,  "  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire  ;"  and,  it  is 
AA^orthy  of  observation,  that  we  haA^e  scrupulously 
imitated  the  apostle's  example  in  making  this  sub- 
ject immediately  succeed  that  Avhich  Ave  explained 
last  Lord's  day.  The  gospel  of  last  Lord's  day  Avas 
a  passage  in  Isaiah,  "  God  will  abundantly  pardon, 
for  his  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts,  neither  are  our 
ways  his  Avays :  for  as  the  heavens  are  higher  than 
the  earth,  so  are  his  Avays  higher  than  our  Avays  and 
his  thoughts  than  our  thoughts,"  Isa.  Iv.  7.  The 
gospel  of  this  day  is,  "  Our  God  is  a  consuming 
fire."  St.  Paul  hath  made  a  similar  arrangement,  and 
him  we  have  imitated.  In  the  verses  which  precede 
our  text  he  hath  described,  in  a  very  magnificent 
manner,  the  goodness  of  God  in  the  dispensation  of 
the  gospel.      He  hath  exalted  the  condition  of  a 


The  Severity  of  God,  313 

Christian,  not  only  above  that  of  the  heathens,  who 
knew  the  mercy  of  God  only  by  natural  reason,  but 
even  above  that  of  the  Jews,  who  knew  it  by  revela- 
tion, but  from  whom  it  was  partly  hidden  under  vails 
of  severity  and  rigour.  "  Ye  are  not  come,  said  he, 
unto  the  mount  that  might  be  touched,  and  that 
burned  with  fire,  nor  unto  blackness,  and  darkness, 
and  tempest,  and  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  and  the 
Toice  of  words,  which  voice  they  that  heard,  intreat- 
ed  that  the  word  should  not  be  spoken  to  them  any 
more.  But  ye  are  come  unto  Mount  Sion,  and  un- 
to the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusa- 
lem, and  to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  to 
the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born, 
which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  Jesus  the  me- 
diator of  the  new  covenant,  and  to  the  blood  of 
sprinkling,  that  speaketh  better  things  than  that  of 
Abel,"  ver.  18,  <kc.  But  what  consequences  hath 
the  apostle  drawn  from  all  these  truths  ?  Are  they 
consequences  of  security  and  indifference,  such  as 
some  Christians  draw  from  them,  such  as  some  of 
you,  it  maybe,  drew  fn-m  the  prophet's  doctrine 
last  Lord's  day  ?  No ;  they  are  consequences  of 
vigilance  and  fear :  "  See  that  ye  refuse  not  him 
that  speaketh :  for  if  they  escaped  not  who  refused 
him  that  spake  on  earth,  much  more  shall  not 
we  escape,  if  we  turn  away  from  him  that  speaketh 
from  heaven :  For  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire," 
ver.  25. 

Our  God  is  a  consuming  Jire,  These  words  are 
metaphorical ;  they  include  even  a  double  metaphor. 
God  is  here  represented  under  the  emblem  of  fire, 

T0T<.  T.  40 


314  The  Severity  of  God. 

agreeably  to  what  the  psalmist  saith.  Shall  thy  wrath 
hum  like  fire  ?  Ps.  Ixxxix.  46.  There  is  no  difficul- 
iy  in  this  first  metaphor.  But  the  second,  which 
representeth  the  conduct  of  God  towards  impenitent 
sinnei-s  as  wrath,  vengeance,  anger,  is  very  difficult, 
and  requires  a  particular  explication.  In  order  to 
which  we  will  attempt  three  things. 

J.  We  will  endeavour  to  harmonize  our  text  with 
other  parallel  passages,  and  to  give  you  distinct  ideas 
of  that  which  is  called  in  God  wrath,  anger,  ven- 
geance, and  which  occasioned  our  apostle  to  say, 
God  is  a  consuming  fire, 

II.  We  w  ill  prove  that  this  attribute  agrees  to  God 
in  the  sense  that  we  shall  have  given. 

III.  We  w  ill  endeavour  to  reconcile  the  doctrine 
that  we  preach  to-day  with  that  which  we  preached 
last  Lord's  day  ;  the  justice  of  God  with  his  good- 
ness ;  and  by  this  mean  to  engage  you  to  love  and 
adore  God  as  much  w  hen  he  threateneth  as  when  he 
promiseth,  as  much  when  he  presents  his  justice  as 
when  he  displays  his  mercy.  This  is  the  w4iole  plan 
of  this  discourse. 

I.  We  will  endeavour  to  give  you  distinct  notions 
of  that  which  the  scripture  calls  the  wrath,  the  anger^ 
the  vengeance  of  God. 

Recollect  a  remark  which  w^e  have  often  made, 
that  is,  that  when  the  scripture  speaks  of  the  perfec- 
tions and  operations  of  God  it  borroweth  images 
from  the  affections  and  actions  of  men.  Things  that 
cannot  be  known  to  us  by  themselves  can  be  under- 
stood only  by  analogy,  as  it  is  called,  that  is,  by  the 
resemblance  which  they  bear  to  other  things,  with 


The  Seventy  of  God,  315 

which  we  are  better  acquainted.  Divine  things  are 
of  this  kind. 

From  this  remark  follows  a  precaution,  which  is 
necessary  for  the  avoiding  of  error  whenever  we 
meet  with  an  emblem  of  this  kind  descriptive  of  God 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures ;  that  is,  that  we  must  care- 
fully lay  aside  every  part  of  the  emblem,  that  agreeth 
only  to  men  from  whom  it  is  boiTosved,  and  apply 
only  that  part  to  the  Deity  which  is  compatible  with 
the  eminence  of  his  perfections. 

Sometimes  the  part  that  ought  to  be  laid  aside  is 
so  obvious  that  it  is  impossible  to  mistake  it.  For 
example:  When  the  scripture  attributed  to  God 
hands,  or  feet,  sorrow,  or  tears,  or  jealousy,  it  is  very 
easy,  methinks  to  separate  from  emblems  of  this  sort 
all  that  can  only  agree  with  the  natures  9f  frail,  or 
with  the  conditions  of  sinful  men. 

But  sometimes  it  is  not  quite  so  easy.  The  dif- 
ficulty may  proceed  from  several  causes,  of  all  which 
I  shall  mention  but  one  at  present,  and  to  that  I  in- 
treat  your  attention.  Some  men  have  false  notions 
of  grandeur,-  and  none  are  more  likely  to  entertain 
such  notions  than  those  divines,  who  have  breai;hed 
only  the  air  of  the  study,  and  trodden  only  the  dust 
of  the  schools.  Such  divines,  having  never  sweet- 
ened their  manners  by  a  social  mtercourse  with  ra- 
tional people  in  the  world,  have  often  contracted  in 
that  way  of  life  a  sour  morose  disposition,  and  their 
tempers  have  tinged  their  ideas  of  grandeur  and 
glory.  I  am  greatly  inclined  to  believe  that  some 
ideas,  which  several  school-men  have  formed  of  the 
liberty  and  independence  of  God,  have  arisen  from 


316  The  Seventy  of  God, 

this  disposition.     Divines,  who  have  sweetened  their 
manners  by  associating  with  rational  people  in  the 
world,  would  have  attributed  to  God  a  noble  and 
magnanimous  use  of  his   liberty  and  independence. 
They  would  have  said,  God   is  free  and  independ- 
ent, then  he  will  always  do   justly  and  equitably  ; 
then  he  will  require  of  mankind  only  that  which 
bears  a  proportion  to  the  talents  that  he  hath  given 
them  ;   then  misery  will  be  the  consequence  of  no- 
thing but  vice,  and  felicity  will  always  follow  virtue. 
If  the   scriptures   sometimes  represent  God  by  em- 
blems, which  seem  opposite  to  these  notions,  sensible 
men  would  have  considered  that  one  part  of  them 
ought  to  have  been  cautiously  separated  from  the 
other,  because  it  was  incompatible  with  the  eminence 
of  the  perfections  of  God.     But  these  scholastic  di- 
vines have  attributed  to  God  such  a  conduct  as  their 
own  savage  tempers  would  have  observed,  had  they 
been  vested   with   divine  power.     To  each  of  them 
the  prophet's   reproach   may  be  very  properly  ap- 
plied, These  things  hast  thou  done,  and  thou  thought- 
est  that  I  was  altogether  such  a  one  as  thyself,  Ps.l.  21. 
They  said,   God   is  free,  therefore  he  may  appoint 
men,  who  have  done  neither  good  nor  evil,  to  eter- 
nal flames.     God  is   free,  therefore  he  may  create 
men  on  purpose  that  they  may  sin,  and  that  he  may 
display  his  wrath  in  their  punishment. 

II.  Here  let  us  stop,  and  let  us  keep  to  the  sub- 
ject in  hand,  by  observing  that  those  emblems  of 
w  rath  and  vengeance,  under  which  God  is  represent- 
ed to  us,  have  one  part  that  cannot  be  attributed  to 
him,  because  it  is  not  compatible  with  the  eminence 


The  Severity  of  God.  317 

of  bis  perfections,  and  another,  that  must  be  applied 
to  him  because  it  is. 

1.  It  is  a  consequence  of  the  frailty  or  of  the  de- 
pravity of  men,  that  their  anger  inclines  them  to 
hate  those  whom  they  ought  to  love,  and  in  whose 
happiness  they  ought  to  interest  themselves,  as  far 
as  they  can  without  violating  the  laws  of  equity. 
Such  a  hatred  cannot  be  attributed  to  God;  he  loves 
all  his  intelligent  creatures,  and  when  we  are  told 
that  "the  Lord  hateth  a  proud  look,  a  lying  tongue, 
and  hands  that  shed  innocent  blood,"  Prov.  vi.  17. 
when  he  is  represented  as  refusing  some  real  bless- 
ings to  mankind,  as  "hardening  their  hearts,  as 
sending  them  strong  delusions,  that  they  should  be- 
lieve a  lie,"  Exod.  iv.  21.  2  Thess.  ii.  11.  all  these 
descriptions  mean  that  he  dislikes  sin,  and  all  those 
who  commit  it;  that  it  is  not  always  consistent  with 
the  eminence  of  his  perfections  to  work  miracles 
for  their  conversion :  and  that  it  is  not  fit  to  reform 
by  a  physical  power,  w^hich  would  destroy  the  na- 
ture of  vice  and  virtue,  men  who  refuse  to  be  re- 
formed by  a  moral  power,  which  is  suited  to  intelli- 
gent beings. 

2.  It  is  a  consequence  of  human  frailty  or  depra- 
vity that  men's  ivrath,  makes  them  taste  a  barbarous 
pleasure  in  tormenting  those  who  are  the  objects  of 
it,  and  in  feasting,  as  it  were  on  their  miseries.  This 
is  incompatible  with  the  eminence  of  the  perfec- 
tions of  God.  When  he  saith  to  impenitent  sinners, 
"  I  will  laugh  at  your  calamity,  I  will  mock  when 
your  fear  cometh,"  Prov.  i.  26.  when  he  saith,  "Ah, 
I  will  ease  me  of  mine  adversaries,"  Isa.  i.  24.  when 


318  The  Severity  of  God. 

Moses  saith  to  the  Jews,  "  It  shall  come  to  pass,  that 
as  the  Lord  rejoiced  over  you  to  do  you  good,  so 
the  liord  will  rejoice  over  you  to  destroy  you,  and 
to  bring  you  to  nought,"  Deut.  xxviii.  63.  all  the 
meaning  of  passages  of  this  kind  is,  that  the  wisdom 
of  God  approveth  the  judgments  that  his  justice  in- 
flicts ;  that  the  punishments  of  sinners  cannot  affect 
his  happiness ;  and  that  when  he  hath  not  been  glori- 
fied in  thek  conversion,  he  will  be  glorified  in  then* 
destruction. 

3.  It  is  a  consequence  of  the  frailty  or  of  the  de- 
pravity of  men,  that  their  anger  disorders  their  bo- 
dies, and  impairs  their  minds.  See  the  eyes  sparkle, 
the  moutii  foams,  the  animal  spirits  are  in  a  flame ; 
these  obscure  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  and  prevent 
the  weighing  of  those  reasons  that  plead  for  the  guil- 
ty oflender  j  anger  prejudge th  hun,  and  in  spite  of 
many  powerful  pleas  in  his  favor,  his  ruin  is  resolv- 
ed. All  these  are  incompatible  with  the  eminence  of 
the  perfections  of  God.  God  is  a  spirit,  John  iv.  24. 
he  is  not  subject  to  revolutions  of  sense  ;  reasons  of 
punishing  a  sinner  never  divert  his  attention  from 
motives  of  pardoning  the  man,  or  of  moderating  his 
pain.  When,  therefore,  God  is  represented  as  "  shak- 
ing the  earth,  and  moving  the  foundations  of  the 
hills,  because  he  is  wroth ;  when  we  read,  that  there 
went  up  a  smoke  out  of  his  nostrils,  and  fire  out  of 
his  mouth,"  Psa.  xviii.  7,  8.  when  he  who  is  called 
the  Word  of  God,  is  described  as  treading  "  the  wine- 
press of  the  fierceness  of  the  wrath  of  almighty  God," 
Rev.  xix.  13,  15.  we  understand  no  more  than  that 
God  knoweth  how  to  proportion  the  punishment  to 


The  Severity  of  God.  319 

the  sin,  and  that  he  Avill  inflict  the  most  rigorous  pen- 
ahies  on  the  most  atrocious  crimes. 

4.  It  is  a  consecjuence  of  the  frailly  and  depravity 
of  men,  that  their  anger  makes  tliem  usurp  a  right 
which  belongs  to  God.  An  individual,  who  aveng- 
etli  himself,  assumes  the  place  of  thr.t  God  who  hath 
said,  Vengeance  is  mi.ie,  Rom.  xii.  19.  at  least,  he 
assumes  the  place  of  the  magistrate,  to  whom  God 
hath  committed  the  sword  for  the  preventing  of 
those  disorders,  which  would  subvert  society,  if  each 
w^ere  judge  in  his  own  cause.  This  is  incompatible 
w  ith  the  eminence  of  the  divine  perfections.  God 
useth  his  own  right  when  he  punisheth  sin,  agree- 
ably to  the  doctrine  of  St.  Paul,  "  Dearly  beloved, 
avenge  not  yourselves,  but  rather  give  place  unto 
wrath  ;  for  it  is  written,  vengeance  is  mine  ;  I  will 
repay,  saith  the  Lord."  What  is  this  wrath,  to  which 
we  are  recjuired  to  give  place  ?  It  is  the  anger  of 
God.  Avenge  not  yourselves,  hut  give  place  unto 
wrath  y  that  is,  be  not  hasty  in  revenging  injuries, 
your  self-love  may  magnify  them,  and  the  punish- 
ment which  ye  inflict  may  exceed  the  offence ;  leave 
vengeance  to  God,  who  knoweth  how  to  weigh  the 
injuries  that  ye  have  received  in  an  impartial  scale, 
and  to  inflict  such  punishments  on  the  guihy  as  their 
crimes  deserve. 

5.  It  is  a  consequence  of  the  frailty  and  depravi- 
ty of  men,  that  time  doth  not  abate  their  resent- 
ment, and  that  the  only  reason,  which  prevents  the 
rendering  of  evil  for  evil,  is  a  want  of  opportunity ; 
as  soon  as  an  opportunity  offers  they  eagerly  em- 
brace it.     This  is  incompatible  with  the  eminence 


520  The  Severity  of  God. 

of  the  perfections  of  God  ;  he  hath  at  all  times  the 
means  of  punishing  the  guilty.  When  we  are  told, 
therefore,  that  he  "  sets  our  iniquities  before  him, 
our  secret  sins  in  the  light  of  his  countenance,"  Ps. 
xc.  8.  when,  having  reprieved  the  Israelites  at  the 
request  of  Moses,  he  told  him,  "  in  the  day  when  I 
visit,  I  will  visit  their  sin  upon  them,"  Exod.  xxxii. 
34.  we  only  imderstand,  that  time  never  removes  an 
idea  fi'om  his  mind  ;  and  that  if  a  sinner  do  not  im- 
prove the  time,  which  is  granted  to  him  for  his  re- 
pentance, he  will  be  punished  when  that  period  ex- 
pires. 

6.  In  fine,  it  is  a  consequence  of  the  frailty  and 
depravity  of  men,  that  their  anger  puts  them  upon 
considering  and  punishing  a  pardonable  frailty  as  an 
atrocious  crime.  This  is  incompatible  with  the  emi- 
nence of  the  divine  perfection.  If  we  imagine  that 
God  acts  so,  in  any  cases,  it  is  because  we  have  false 
notions  of  sins,  and  think  that  a  pardonable  frailty 
which  is  an  atrocious  crime.  Sometimes  an  action 
that  appears  tolerable  to  us,  is  an  atrocious  crhne, 
on  account  of  the  motive  from  which  it  proceeds. 
Such  was  that  of  Hezekiah ;  he  shewed  his  treasures 
to  the  Babylonian  ambassadors,  and  although  this 
may  seem  very  pardonable,  yet  it  was  an  atrocious 
crime,  which  appears  by  the  following  passage, 
"  Hezekiah  rendered  not  again  according  to  the  ben- 
efit done  unto  him :  for  his  heart  was  lifted  up  ;  there- 
fore there  was  wrath  upon  him,  and  upon  Judah  and 
Jerusalem,"  2  Chron.  xxxii.  25.  An  action  that  may 
appear  to  us  very  tolerable,  is  sometimes  a  heinous 
crime;,  on  account  of  the  singularity  of  the  favour 


The  Severity  of  God.  321 

which  preceded  it.  Such  was  the  conduct  of  Lot's 
wife ;  she  looked  back  toward  Sodom,  w^hich  al- 
though it  may  seem  very  pardonable  was  yet  a  hein- 
ous crime,  because  she  disobeyed  the  express  coirn 
mand  of  her  benefactor,  who  had  just  delivered  her 
from  the  destruction  of  Sodom;  and  therefore  she 
was  instantly  petrified.  An  action  that  may  seem 
very  tolerable  to  us,  is  sometimes  a  very  atrocious 
crime,  on  account  of  the  little  temptation  which  the 
offender  had  to  commit  it.  Such  Avas  the  action  of 
that  man  who  gathered  sticks  upon  the  Sabbath-dai/y 
Numb.  XV.  32.  and  although  this  may  seem  very  tol- 
erable to  us  yet  it  was  a  heinous  offence,  because  it 
was  very  easy  to  abstain  from  it,  and  therefore  he 
was  stoned.  An  action,  that  may  seem  very  pardon- 
able to  us,  may  be  a  heinous  crime,  on  account  of 
the  dignity  of  the  offender.  Such  w^as  that  of  Na- 
dab  and  Abihu ;  they  offered  strange  fire  to  the  Lord, 
and  although  it  may  appear  very  pardonable  to  us 
yet  it  Avas  an  atrocious  crime,  for  Nadab  and  Abihu 
w^ere  ministers  of  holy  things,  and  they  ought  to  have 
given  examples  of  exact  and  scrupulous  obedience, 
accordingly  they  were  consumed  with  fire  from  hea- 
ven. Lev.  X.  1,  2. 

Thus  w^e  have  gone  through  our  first  article,  and 
have  endeavoured  to  give  you  distinct  ideas  of  that 
which  the  scripture  calls  in  God,  wrath,  anger,  con- 
suming Jire, 

Moreover,  in  explaining  the  meaning  of  tlie  pro- 
position in  the  text,  we  have  collected  several  passa- 
ges, and  alleged  several  examples,  which  prove  the 
truth  under  our  consideration.     The  explication  of 

VOL.   I.  41 


322  The  Severity  of  God. 

this  proposition,  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire,  proves 
its  truth  in  the  sense  in  which  we  have  explained  it. 
"V^^e  leave  the  enlargement  of  this  article  to  yom- 
meditation,  and  proceed  to  the  next. 

III.  We  are  to  conciliate  what  the  scripture  saith 
of  the  goodness  of  God  with  what  it  saith  of  his  an- 
ger or  vengeance ;  the  gospel  of  last  Lord's  day  with 
the  gospel  of  this  day  :  and,  as  the  two  subjects  never 
appear  more  irreconcileable  than  Avhen,  having  used 
all  our  endeavours  to  terrify  people  who  defer  their 
conversion  till  a  dying-illness,  we  actually  take  pains 
to  comfort  those  who  have  deferred  it  till  that  time, 
we  wjll  endeavour  to  harmonize  the  goodness  and 
justice  of  God  in  that  particular  point  of  view. 

First,  Let  us  endeavour,  in  a  general  view,  to  re- 
concile the  goodness  of  God  with  his  justice,  by  lay- 
ing down  a  few  principles. 

1.  To  speak  properly,  there  are  not  several  per- 
fections in  God ;  but  there  is  one  single  excellence, 
inclusive  of  every  other,  that  ariseth  from  all  his 
perfections,  but  of  which  it  is  not  possible  that  we 
can  either  form  any  complete  ideas,  or  easily  ex- 
press by  any  name :  in  general,  it  may  be  called  or- 
der, or  love  of  order.  Order,  in  regard  to  finite 
and  dependent  beings,  is  that  disposition,  which 
induceth  them  to  act  agreeably  to  their  relations 
to  other  intelligent  beings;  to  the  faculties  which 
the  Creator  hath  given  them  ;  to  the  talents  that  they 
have  received;  and  to  the  circumstances  in  which 
they  are  placed.  Order,  in  regard  to  God,  who  is 
an  inlinite  and  an  independent  intelligence,  is  that 
disposition,  which  induceth  him  always  to  act  agTee- 
ably  to  the  eminence  of  his  perfections. 


The  Severity  of  God.  323 

2.  Although  God  hath  only  a  general  excellence, 
yet  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  divide  it  into  several  par- 
ticular excellencies,  in  order  to  the  obtaining  of  some 
knowledge  of  an  object,  the  immensity  of  which  will 
not  allow  us  to  comprehend  it  at  once.  We  are  obli- 
ged to  use  this  method  in  studying  finite  objects, 
whenever  their  sphere  extends  beyond  the  comprehen- 
sion of  a  single  act  of  the  mind :  And,  if  finite  ob- 
jects can  be  known  only  by  this  method,  for  a  much 
stronger  reason  we  must  be  allow^ed  to  use  the  same 
method  of  obtaining  the  knowledge  of  the  great  and 
infinite  Being. 

3.  The  general  excellence  of  God  being  thus  di- 
vided in  parts,  each  part  becomes  what  we  call  a  per- 
fection, or  an  attribute  of  God,  as  vengeance  or  jus- 
lice,  and  goodness :  but  each  particular  attribute  w  ill 
be  still  mistaken  unless  w^e  subdivide  it  again  into 
other,  and  still  more  contracted  spheres.  Thus, 
when  God  sendeth  rain  and  fruitful  seasons,  w^e  call 
the  blessing  simply  bounty.  When  he  delivereth  us 
out  of  our  afflictions,  w^e  call  it  compassion.  When 
he  pardoneth  our  sins,  we  call  it  mercy.  But  as  all 
these  particular  excellencies  proceed  from  tliat  gen- 
eral attribute  w  hich  w^e  call  goodness,  so  that  attri- 
bute itself  proceedeth,  as  well  as  his  justice,  from  an 
excellence  more  general  still,  w^hich  we  have  denom- 
inated order  or  love  of  order. 

4.  Perfections  that  proceed  from  the  same  perfec- 
tion, or  rather,  which  are  the  same  perfection  appli- 
<^d  to  different  subjects,  cannot  be  contrary  to 
each  other.  Strictly  speakinir,  God  is  no  n^ore 
just  than  good,  no  more  good  than  just.     His  good- 


324  The  Seventy  of  God. 

iiess  is  restrained  by  his  justice,  bis  justice  by  bis 
goodness.  He  deligbteth  as  much  in  the  exercise 
of  bis  justice,  when  order  requires  it,  as  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  bis  goodness,  when  order  requires  him  to 
exercise  it :  or,  to  express  the  same  thino^  more  plain- 
ly, that  which  is  goodness,  when  it  is  applied  to  one 
case,  woukl  cease  to  be  goodness,  were  it  applied  to 
a  different  case,  because,  in  the  latter,  goodness 
w  ould  not  be  restrained  by  justice  :  or,  to  express 
myself  more  plainly  still,  because  order,  wliich  al- 
low eth  the  exercise  of  goodness  in  the  first  case,  doth 
not  allow  the  exercise  of  it  in  the  last,  so  tiiat  wlmt 
would  be  fit,  or  agreeable  to  order,  in  the  fust  case, 
would  be  unfit  or  disorderly  in  the  last. 

To  conclude.  God  is  as  amiable  and  adorable 
when  he  exerciseth  his  justice,  as  when  he  exerciseth 
his  goodness.  That  which  makes  me  adore  God,  be- 
lieve his  word,  hope  in  his  promises,  and  love  him 
above  all  things,  is  the  eminence  of  his  perfections. 
Were  not  God  possessed  of  such  an  eminence  of 
bis  perfections,  he  would  not  be  a  proper  object  of 
adoration.  I  should  be  in  danger  of  being  deceived 
were  I  to  believe  his  word,  or  to  trust  his  promise, 
and  I  should  be  guilty  of  idolatry,  were  I  to  love 
him  with  that  supreme  afiection,  which  is  due  to 
none  but  the  Supreme  Being.  But,  the  goodness 
and  justice  of  God  being  equal  emanations  of  the 
eminence  of  his  perfections,  and  of  his  love  of  or- 
der, I  ought  equally  to  adore  and  love  him  when 
he  revv ardeth,  and  when  he  punisheth,  when  he  ex- 
erciseth his  justice,  and  when  he  exerciseth  his 
goodness;    because,    in    either  case,   he    alike  dis- 


The  Severily  of  God  325 

playeth  that  general  excellence,  that  love  of  order, 
which  is  the  ground  of  my  love  and  ol)edience.  1 
ought  to  adore  and  love  hiin,  as  much  when  he 
drowns  the  world,  as  Vv  hen  he  promiseth  to  drown 
it  no  more ;  when  he  unlocks  the  gates  of  hell,  as 
when  he  openeth  the  doors  of  heaven  ;  when  he 
saith  to  the  impenitent,  "Depart,  ye  cursed,  to 
the  devil  and  his  angels,"  Mat.  xxv.  41.  as  when 
he  saith  to  his  elect,  "  Come  ye  blessed  of  my  Fa- 
ther, inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from 
the  foundation  of  the  world,"  Mat.  xxv.  34. 

The  justice  and  the  goodness  of  God,  then,  are 
in  perfect  harmony ;  the  gospel  of  last  Lord's-day, 
and  the  gospel  of  this  day,  entirely  agree ;  the  pro- 
phet and  the  apostle  preach  the  same  doctrine,  and 
the  two  texts  rightly  understood,  God  is  a  consum- 
ing Jire;  the  Lord  will  ahundantly  pardon:  both 
these  texts,  I  say,  present  the  same  object  to  us,  the 
eminence  of  the  divine  perfections,  God's  love  of 
order.     This  is  wdiat  we  proposed  to  prove. 

Let  us  now  apply  this  general  harmony  of  the 
goodness  and  severity  of  God,  to  the  removing  of 
a  seeming  inconsistency  in  the  conduct  of  your 
preachers  and  casuists,  who  first  use  every  effort  to 
alarm  and  terrify  your  minds  with  the  idea  of  a 
death-bed  repentance,  and  afterward  take  equal 
pains  to  comfort  you,  when  ye  have  deferred  your 
repentance  to  that  time,  and  when  your  case  appears 
desperate. 

Why  do  we  not  despair  of  a  man  who  delays  his 
conversion  till  the  approach  of  death  ?  Why  did  we 
tell  you  last  Lord's-day,  that  God   pardoneth  not 


326  The  Seventy  of  God, 

only  the  sins  of  months  and  years,  but  of  a  whole 
life  ?  Because  that  order  which  constitutes  the  emi- 
nence of  the  divine  perfections,  doth  not  allow  that 
a  sincere  conversion,  a  conversion  that  reforms  the 
sin,  and  rene\\s  the  sinner  should  be  rejected  by 
God.  Now  we  cannot  absolutely  deny  the  possi- 
bility of  a  sincere  death-bed  conversion  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons, 

1.  Because  it  is  not  absolutely  impossible,  that  a 
violent  fit  of  sickness,  or  an  apprehension  of  death, 
should  make  deeper  impressions  on  the  mind,  than 
either  sermons,  or  exhortations,  or  books  of  devo- 
tion could  ever  produce.  This  reflection  is  the  more 
solid,  because  the  phrase,  an  unconverted  man,  is  ex- 
tremely equivocal.  We  call  him  an  unconverted 
man,  who  profanely  rusheth  into  all  sorts  of  sins, 
and  who  never  made  one  sacrifice  to  order ;  and  we 
also,  with  great  reason,  call  him  an  unconverted  man, 
who  hath  renounced  all  sins  except  one.  Now  the 
idea  of  death  may  finish,  in  the  souls  of  people  of 
the  latter  sort,  a  w  ork  which  they  had  indeed  neglect- 
ed, but  which  however  was  actually  begun. 

2.  Because  we  are  neither  so  fully  acquainted  with 
other  people's  hearts,  nor  indeed  with  our  own,  as 
to  determine  whether  sin  have  so  entirely  depraved 
all  the  faculties  of  the  soul,  that  it  is  past  remedy ; 
or,  whether  it  have  arrived  at  that  precise  degree  of 
corruption,  to  which  the  eminence  of  the  divine  per- 
fections doth  not  allow  a  display  of  that  efficacy, 
w^hich  is  promised  to  those  who  desire  the  grace  of 
conversion. 


The  Severity  of  God.  327 

3.  Because  we  find,  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that 
some  have  obtained  mercy,  after  they  had  commit- 
ted the  very  crimes,  the  remembrance  of  which,  we 
have  said,  ought  not  to  chive  any  to  despair.  We 
meet  with,  at  least,  one  example,  which  affords  a 
probability,  (I  do  not  say  a  demonstration)  that  the 
eminence  of  the  divine  prefections  doth  not  always 
require,  that  a  man,  who  hath  spent  his  life  in  rob- 
beries, should  be  excluded  from  the  mercy  of  God. 
We  find  there  a  thief  who  was  condemned  to  be  cru- 
cified, and  who  said  to  the  companion  of  his  iniqui- 
ties and  miseries,  we  receive  the  due  rewards  of  our 
deeds y  Luke  xxiii.  41.  but  who,  notwithstanding  all 
the  misery  of  his  case,  applied  to  Jesus  Christ,  and, 
from  his  adorable  mouth,  received  this  comfortable 
promise,  "  Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  to-day  shalt  thou 
be  with  me  in  paradise,"  Luke  xxiii.  43. 

4.  Because  we  still  see  people,  who,  having  lived 
thirty,  yea  fifty  years  in  sin,  have  been  converted 
in  a  time  of  sickness,  and  who,  being  restored  to 
health,  give  full  proof  of  the  reality  of  their  conver- 
sion. Such,  examples,  I  own,  are  rare,  and  almost 
unheard  of,  yet  we  could,  perhaps,  mention  two 
or  three,  out  of  twenty  thousand  sick  people,  whom 
we  have  visited,  or  of  whom  heard,  in  the  course 
of  our  ministry.  Now  the  examples  of  two  or  three, 
who  have  been  converted  on  a  sick-bed,  out  of 
twenty  thousand  who  have  died  without  conversion, 
are  sufficient  to  prevent  our  saying  to  one  dying 
man,  who  should  have  put  off  his  repentance  to 
the  last  hour,  that  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  be 
converted. 


:328  The  Severity  of  God, 

5.  Because  God  worketh  miracles  in  religion  as 
well  as  in  nature,  and  becaiise  no  man  hath  a  suffi- 
cient knowledge  of  the  nature  of  God's  perfections 
to  enable  him  to  affirm  that  a  miracle  cannot,  or 
ougljt  not  to  be  wrought  in  behalf  of  such  a  sinner. 

6.  Because  we  cannot  find,  that  your  pastors 
have  any  authority  from  their  Bibles  to  say  to  a 
penitent  sinner,  at  any  time,  there  is  no  more  hope 
for  thee  ;  thou  hast  exhausted  the  mercy  of  God; 
thou  art  gotten  to  that  period,  in  which  we  have  no 
other  morality  to  preach  than  this,  he  that  is  unjust, 
let  him  he  unjust  still;  and  he  that  is  filthy,  let  him 
he  filthy  still,  Rev.  xxii.  11.  On  the  contrary,  all 
the  directions  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  that  relate  to 
the  exercise  of  our  ministry,  engage  us  to  pray  for 
a  sinner,  as  long  as  he  hath  a  spark  of  life ;  to  en- 
deavour to  convince  him  as  long  as  he  is  capable  of 
reasoning ;  and,  till  he  is  past  feeling  the  force  of 
motives  to  conversion,  to  do  every  thing,  that  is  in 
our  poAver,  to  convert  him.  But  doth  not  all  this 
conduct  suppose  that  which  we  have  been  endeav- 
ouring to  prove?  That  is,  that  to  what  degree  soev- 
er a  sinner  may  have  carried  his  sin,  how  long  so- 
ever he  may  have  lived  in  it,  there  will  always  be  a 
sufficiency  of  pardon,  where  there  is  a  certainty  of 
conversion  ;  agreeably  to  the  gospel  that  we  preach- 
ed to  you  on  the  last  Lord's-day,  "Seek  ye  the 
Lord  while  he  may  be  found,  call  ye  upon  him  while 
he  is  near :  Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 
unrighteous  man  his  thoughts :  And  let  him  return 
unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him; 
and  to  our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon  :" 


The  Severity  of  God.  329 

For  iny  thoughts  of  grace  and  mercy  must  not  be 
measured  by  the  ideas  of  the  finest  reasoning  pow- 
ers; much  less  by  those  of  a  gloomy  desponding 
mind,  "My  thoughts  are  not  your  tlioughts,  neither 
are  your  ways  my  ways,  saith  the  Lord :  For  as  the 
heavens  are  higher  than  the  earth,  so  are  my  ways 
higher  than  your  ways,  and  my  thoughts  than  your 
thoughts."     This  was  the  gospel  of  last  Lord's-day. 

The  gospel  of  this  day  is,  our  God  is  a  consuming 
Jire,  But  these  two  gospels  entirely  agree,  and 
our  endeavours  to  comfort  you,  after  ye  have  de- 
ferred your  conversion  to  a  death-bed,  are  not  in- 
consistent with  our  endeavours  to  terrify  and  alarm 
you,  when  we  perceive  that  ye  obstinately  deter- 
mine to  defer  your  repentance  to  that  time.  More- 
over, the  same  reasons  which  prevail  with  us  to  com- 
fort you  in  that  sad  period,  prevail  with  us  to  give 
you  a  salutary  alarm  before  the  fatal  moment  comes. 

It  is  true,  Gods  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts  ;  and 
it  is  possible  that  the  approach  of  death  may  make 
deeper  impressions  on  you,  than  either  sermons  or 
pious  books  have  made:  But  yet  our  God  is  a  con- 
suming Jire.  What  a  time  is  a  dying  illness  for  the 
receiving  of  such  impressions!  I  omit  those  sudden 
and  unexpected  deaths,  of  which  we  have  so  many 
yearly,  or  rather  daily,  examples.  I  omit  the  sud- 
den deaths  of  those,  who,  while  v/e  were  convers- 
ing and  transacting  business  v>'ith  thefn,  were  seiz- 
ed with  violent  pains,  turned  pale,  and  died,  and 
were  instantly  stretched  on  a  bier.  I  pass  those, 
who  went  to  bed  healtiiy  and  u  ell,  who  quietly  fell 
asleep,  and  whom  we  have  found  in  tlie  mornmg 

VOL.  I.  42 


330  The  Severity  of  God. 

dead  and  cold.  All  these  melancholy  examples  we 
omit,  for  one  would  imagine,  considering  your  con- 
duct, and  hearing  your  conversation,  that  each  of 
you  had  received  a  revelation  to  assure  him  of  an 
exemption  from  sudden  death.  But  what  a  time  is  a 
dying  illness  for  renovation  and  conversion  !  Would 
not  one  suppose,  that  those,  who  hope  to  be  convert- 
ed then,  have  always  lived  among  immortals,  and 
have  neither  heard  of  death,  nor  seen  a  person  die  ? 
Ah  !  What  obstacles!  What  a  world  of  obstacles  op- 
pose such  extravagant  hopes,  and  justify  the  efforts 
of  those  who  endeavour  to  destroy  them!  Here  is 
business  that  must  be  settled ;  a  will,  which  must  be 
made  ;  a  number  of  articles  that  must  be  discussed  : 
there  are  friends,  who  must  be  embraced ;  relations, 
that  must  be  dissolved ;  children,  who  must  be  torn 
away ;  the  soul  must  be  writhen,  and  rent,  and  riven 
asunder  with  sighs  and  adieus.  Here,  arise  frightful 
ideas  of  death,  which  have  never  entered  the  mind 
but  amidst  numberless  hurries  of  necessary  business, 
or  countless  objects  of  deceitful  pleasures ;  ideas  of 
a  death,  that  hath  been  always  considered  at  a  dis- 
tance, though  so  many  voices  have  announced  its 
approach ;  but  the  approach  of  which  now  astonish- 
es, benumbs,  and  i^enders  motionless :  There,  the  ill- 
ness increaseth,  pains  multiply,  agonies  convulse, 
the  whole  sou],  full  of  intolerable  sensations  loseth 
the  power  of  seeing  and  hearing,  thinking  and  re- 
flecting. Here  are  medicines  more  intolerable  than 
the  malady,  operations  more  violent  than  the  agonies 
which  they  are  designed  to  allay :  There,  conscience, 
for  the  first  time,  enlightened,  awaked,  and  alarmed. 


The  Severity  of  God.  331 

rolls  in  tides  of  remorse ;  the  terrible  remembrance 
of  a  life  spent  in  sin ;  an  aiTny  of  irrefragable  wit- 
nesses, from  all  parts  arising,  prove  the  guilt,  and 
denounce  a  sentence  of  death,  on  the  departing  soul. 
See  now,  whether  this  first  re  fleet  ion,  which  authoriseth 
our  endeavours  to  comfort  and  invigorate  your  souls, 
when  ye  have  defen-ed  your  conversion  to  your  last 
hour,  be  inconsistent  with  those  which  we  use  to  ter- 
rify and  alarm  you,  when  ye  obstinately  put  off  your 
repentance  to  that  time  ? 

It  is  true,  "  God's  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts," 
and  we  have  neither  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  other 
people's  hearts,  nor  of  our  own,  to  affirm  with  cer- 
tainty when  their  faculties  are  entirely  contamina- 
ted :  But  yet,  "  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire."  We 
know  men,  to  whom  the  truth  is  become  unintelli- 
gible, in  consequence  of  the  disguise  in  which  they 
have  taken  the  pains  to  clothe  it ;  and  who  have  ac- 
customed themselves  to  palliate  vice,  tiii  they  are 
become  incapable  of  perceiving  its  turpitude. 

"  God's  thoughts  are  notour  thoughts,"  it  is  true; 
and  we  have  seen  some  examples  of  people,  who 
have  proved,  since  their  recovery,  that  they  were 
truly  converted  in  sickness,  and  on  whose  account 
we  presume  that  others  may  possibly  be  converted 
by  the  same  mean  :  But  yet  "  our  God  is  a  consum- 
ing fire."  How  rare  are  these  examples!  Doth  this 
require  proof ?  Must  we  demonstrate  it?  Ye  are 
our  proofs :  ye,  yourselves,  are  our  demonstrations. 
Who  of  you,  (I  speak  of  those  who  are  of  mature 
age)  Who  of  you  hath  not  been  sick,  and  thought 
himself  in  danger  of  death  ?   Who  hath  not  made 


332  The  Severity  of  God. 

resolutions  in  that  distressing  hour,  and  promised 
God  to  reform  ?  The  law  of  these  exercises  forbids 
certain  details,  and  prohibits  the  naming  of  my 
hearers :  but  I  appeal  to  your  consciences,  and,  if 
your  consciences  be  asleep,  I  appeal  to  the  immor- 
tal God.  How  many  of  you  have  deposited  your 
resolutions  with  us,  and  have  solemnly  engaged  to 
renounce  the  world  with  all  its  sinful  maxims  ?  How 
many  of  you  have  imposed  upon  us  by  appearan- 
ces of  conversion,  and  have  imposed  upon  your- 
selves too  ?  How  many  of  you  should  we  have  al- 
leged as  new  examples  of  death-bed  conversions  if 
God  had  not  granted  you  a  recovery  ?  Are  ye  con- 
verted indeed  ?  Have  ye  renounced  the  world  and 
its  maxims?  Ah!  were  we  to  judge  by  the  con- 
duct of  those  who  have  recovered,  of  the  state  of 

those  who  are  dead My  brethren,  I 

dare  not  examine  the  matter,  but  I  leave  it  to  your 
meditation. 

Itistrue,  "  God's  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts;" 
and  God  worketh  miracles  in  religion  as  well  as  in 
nature  :  But  yet,  "  our  God  is  a  consuming  fire." 
Who  can  assure  himself,  that  having  abused  com- 
mon grace,  he  shall  obtain  extraordinary  assist- 
ances ? 

It  is  true,  "  God's  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts;" 
and  tliere  is  nothing  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  which 
impowers  us  to  shut  the  gates  of  heaven  against  a 
dymg  penitent ;  we  have  no  authority  to  tell  you, 
that  there  is  no  more  hope  for  you,  but  that  ye  are 
lost  without  remedy  :  But  yet,  "  our  God  is  a  con- 
suming fire."  There  are  hundreds  of  passages  in  om- 


The  Severity  of  God.  33^ 

Bibles,  which  authorise  us  to  declare  what  I  am  say- 
ing :  there  are  hundreds  of  passages  that  command  us, 
under  the  penalty  of  suffering  all  the  punishments 
that  belong  to  the  crime,  not  to  conceal  any  thing 
from  the  criminal :  there  are  hundreds  of  passages 
which  empower  and  enjoin  us  to  warn  you,  you, 
who  are  fifty  years  of  age ;  you,  who  are  sixty ; 
you,  who  are  fourscore  ;  that  still  to  put  off  the 
work  of  your  conversion,  is  a  madness,  an  excess 
of  inflexibility  and  indolence,  which  all  the  flames 
of  hell  can  never  expiate. 

To  conclude.  This  is  an  article,  of  which  we, 
your  pastors,  hope  to  give  a  good  account  to  God, 
however  unworthy  w^e  are  of  his  approbation. 
How  often  have  we  represented  the  danger  of  your 
procrastinations?  Ye  walls  of  this  church!  were  ye 
capable  of  giving  evidence,  we  would  take  you  to 
witness.  But  we  appeal  to  you,  ye  sermons,  that 
have  been  preached  in  this  assembly !  ye  shall  be 
recollected  in  that  great  day,  in  which  each  of  our 
hearers  shall  give  an  account  of  the  use  that  he  hath 
made  of  you'.  Ye  consciences,  that  have  heard  our 
duections!  ye  shall  bear  witness.  Ye  gainsay ers  ! 
ye  yourselves  shall  bear  witness,  ye  who,  by  revers- 
ing those  ideas  which  the  gospel  giveth  us  of  the 
mercy  of  God,  have  so  often  pretended  to  obscure 
those  w^hich  we  have  endeavoured  to  give  of  his  jus- 
tice and  vengeance :  "  We  are  pure  from  your 
blood,  we  have  not  shunned  to  declare  unto  you  all 
the  counsel  of  God,"  Acts  xx.  26,  27.  When  we 
stand  at  his  tribunal,  and,  under  a  sense  of  the  weak- 
ness with  which  our  ministry  w^as  accompanied,  say 


334  The  Severity  of  God. 

to  him,  "  Enter  not  into  judgment  with  thy  ser- 
vants, OLord!"  Ps.  cxliii.  2.  Each  of  us  will  ven- 
ture to  add,  with  a  view  to  the  importunity  that  had 
been  used  to  prevail  with  you  to  improve  your  pre- 
cious moments,  "  I  have  preached  righteousness  in 
the  great  congregation;  lo,  I  have  not  refrained 
my  lips,  O  Lord,  thou  knowest.  Withhold  not  thou 
thy  tender  mercies  from  me,  O  Lord,"  Ps.  xl.  9.  IL 
"  I  have  spent  my  strength  for  nought,  and  in  vain ; 
yet  surely  my  judgment  is  with  the  Lord,  and  my 
work  with  my  God,"  Isa.  xlix.  4. 

O !  may  God  animate  us  with  more  noble  motives! 
God  grant,  not  that  the  eternal  misery  of  our  hear- 
ers may  be  the  apology  of  our  ministry,  Phil.  iv.  I. 
but  that  ye  may  be  our  joy  and  crown  in  the  day  of 
Christ!  Amen,  ch.  1.  10. 


SERMON  X. 

The  Patience  of  God  with  wicked  Nations, 


Genesis  xv.  16. 
The  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is  not  yet  full, 

XT  is  a  shocking  disposition  of  mind,  which  Solo- 
mon describes  in  that  well  known  passage  in  Ec- 
clesiastes :  Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is 
not  executed  speedily  ;  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons 
of  men  is  fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil,  ch.  viii.  11.  It 
seems,  at  first  sight,  as  if  the  wise  man  had  rather 
exceeded  in  his  portrait  of  the  human  heart ;  or 
that,  if  there  were  any  originals,  they  could  only  be 
a  few  monsters,  from  whose  souls  were  eradicated 
all  the  seeds -of  religion  and  piety,  as  well  as  every 
degree  of  reason  and  humanity.  God  is  patient  to- 
ward all  who  ofl'end  him;  then,  let  us  offend  him 
without  remorse,  let  us  try  the  utmost  extent  of  his 
patience.  God  lifteth  over  our  heads  a  mighty  hand, 
armed  with  lightnings  and  thunderbolts,  but  this 
hand  is  usually  suspended  a  while  before  it  strikes ; 
then  let  us  dare  it  while  it  delays,  and  till  it  moves 
to  crush  us  to  pieces  let  us  not  respect  it.  What  a 
disposition!  What  a  shocking  disposition  of  mind  is 
this  mv  brethren  ? 


336  The  Patience  of  God. 

But  let  us  rend  the  vails  with  which  we  conceal 
ourselves  from  ourselves ;  let  us  penetrate  those  se- 
cret recesses  of  our  consciences,  into  which  we  nev- 
er enter  but  when  we  are  forced ;  let  us  go  to  the 
bottom  of  a  heart  naturally  deceitful  above  all  things, 
and  desperately  wicked,  and  we  shall  find  that  this 
disposition  of  mind,  which  at  first  sight  inspires  us 
with  horror,  is  the  disposition :  of  whom  ?  Of  the 
greatest  part  of  this  assembly,  my  brethren.  Could 
we  persist  in  sin  without  the  patience  of  God  ?  Dare 
we  live  in  Ihat  shameful  secur^y,  with  which  the 
ministers  of  the  living  God  so  justly  reproach  us,  if 
God  had  authorized  them  to  cry  in  our  street,  Yet 
forty  days,  yet  forty  days  /  Jonah  iii.  Had  w^e  seen 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  fall  at  St.  Peter  s  feet,  as 
soon  as  they  kept  back  part  of  the  price  of  their  pos- 
session, Acts  V.  1,  2.  in  a  word,  could  we  have  the 
madness  to  add  sin  to  sin,  if  we  were  really  convin- 
ced, that  God  entertained  the  formidable  design  of 
bearing  with  us  no  longer,  but  of  precipitating  us 
into  the  gulfs  of  hell  on  the  very  first  act  of  rebel- 
lion ?  Why  then  do  we  rebel  every  day  ?  It  is  for 
the  reason  alleged  by  the  wise  man  :  It  is  because 
sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  executed  spee- 
dily :  Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  ex- 
ecuted speedily  j  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men 
is  fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil, 

I  intend  to-day,  my  brethren,  to  endeavour  to 
dissipate  the  dark  clouds,  with  which  your  security 
obscures  the  designs  of  a  patient  God,  who  hath 
been  patient  tow  ards  you,  long  suffering  towards  all, 
2  Pet.  iii.  9.  and   who  is  exercising  his  patience  to- 


The  Patience  of  God.  337 

ward  you  this  day.  But  who  can  tell  how  much 
lonoer  he  intends  to  bear  with  you  ?  Let  us  enter 
into  tlie  matter.  I  design  to  consider  our  text  prin- 
cipally with  a  view  to  the  riches  of  the  forbearance, 
and  long-snjfering  of  God,  Rom.  ii.  4.  for  it  treats  of 
a  mystery  of  justice  which  interests  all  mankind. 
God  bears  with  the  most  wicked  nations  a  long 
while,  and,  having  borne  a  long  while  with  the  re- 
bellion of  ancestors,  bears  also  a  long  while  with 
that  of  their  descendants ;  but,  at  length,  collecting 
the  rebellion  of  both  into  one  point  of  vengeance, 
he  punisheth  a  people  w  ho  have  abused  his  patience, 
and  proportioneih  his  punishments  to  the  length  of 
time  which  had  been  granted  to  avert  them. 

All  these  solemn  truths  are  included  in  the  senten- 
tious w  ords  of  the  text :  "  The  niiquity  of  the  Amo- 
rites  is  not  yet  full."  I  hasten  to  explain  them  in  or- 
der to  employ  the  most  of  the  precious  moments  of 
attention,  with  which  ye  deign  to  favor  me,  in  de- 
riving such  practical  instructions  from  them  as  they 
afford.  Promote  our  design,  my  dear  brethren.  Let 
not  the  forbearance,  which  the  love  of  God  now  af- 
fords you,  *'  set  your  hearts  fully  to  do  evil."  And 
thou,  O  almighty  and  long-suffering  God !  whose 
treasures  of  forbearance  perhaps  this  nation  may 
have  already  exhausted  !  O  thou  just  avenger  of  sin  ! 
who  perhaps  mayest  be  about  to  punish  our  crimes, 
now  ripe  for  vengeance,  O  suspend  its  execution  till 
we  make  some  profound  reflections  on  the  objects 
before  us!  O  let  the  ardent  prayers  of  our  Abra- 
hams, and  of  our  Lots,  prevail  with  thee  to  lengthen 
the  forbearance  which  thou  hast  already  exercised  to- 

voL.  I.  43 


33a  The  Patience  of  God. 

wards  this  church,  these  provinces,  and  every  sinner 
in  this  assembly !  Amen. 

"  The  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is  not  yet  full." 
These  words  were  addressed  to  Abraham  by  God 
himself.  He  had  just  before  given  him  a  victory 
over  five  kings,  and  had  promised  him  blessings  more 
glorious  than  all  those  which  he  had  received  before. 
He  had  said  to  him,  "  Fear  not,  I  am  thy  shield,  and 
thine  exceeding  great  reward,"  Gen.  xv.  1 ,  2,  4,  5,  1 3. 
But  the  Patriarch  thou2::ht  that  these  great  promises 
could  not  be  accomplished,  because  he  had  no  pos- 
terity, and  was  far  advanced  in  age.  God  relieves 
hi)ii  frojn  this  fear,  by  promising  him  not  only  a  son, 
but  a  posterity,  which  should  equal  the  stars  of  hea- 
ven in  number,  and  should  possess  a  country  as  ex- 
tensive as  their  Avants  :  but  at  the  same  time  he  told 
him,  that,  before  the  accomplishment  of  these  prom- 
ises, his  seed  should  be  either  strangers  in  the  land  of 
Canaan,  the  conquest  of  which  should  be  reserved 
for  them,  or  subject  to  the  Egyptians  for  the  space 
of  four  hundred  years :  that,  at  the  expiration  of  that 
period,  they  should  quit  their  slavery,  laden  with 
the  spoils  of  Egypt :  that,  "  in  the  fourth  genera- 
tion," they  should  return  into  the  land  of  Canaan, 
where  Abraham  dwelt,  when  the  Lord  addressed 
these  words  to  him ;  that  then  they  should  conquer 
the  country,  and  should  be  the  ministers  of  God's 
vengeance  on  the  Canaanites,  whose  abominations 
even  now  deserved  severe  punishments,  but  which 
God  would  at  present  defer,  because  the  wretched 
people  had  not  yet  filled  up  the  measure  of  their 
crimes. 


The  Patience  of  God.  339 

This  is  a  general  view  of  our  text  in  connection 
with  the  context.  "  Know  of  a  surety,  that  thy  seed 
shall  be  a  stranger  in  a  land  that  is  not  theirs,  and 
shall  serv^e  them,  and  they  shall  afHict  them  four 
hundred  years.  And  also  that  nation  whom  they 
shall  sen^e,  will  I  judge  ;  and  afterward  shall  they 
<^ome  out  Avith  gieat  substance.  And  thou  shall  go 
to  thy  fathers  in  peace  ;  thou  shalt  be  buried  in  a 
good  old  age.  But  in  the  fourth  generation  they 
shall  come  hither  again ;  for  the  iniquity  of  the  Am- 
orites  is  not  yet  full." 

If  ye  would  understand  these  words  more  particu- 
larly, attend  to  a  few  remarks,  which  we  shall  only 
mention  in  brief,  because  a  discussion  of  them  would 
divert  our  attention  too  far  from  the  principal  design 
of  this  discourse."^ 

We  include  in  ihe  four  hunched  years,  mentioned  in 
the  context,  the  time  that  the  Israelites  dwelt  in  Ca- 
naan from  the  birth  of  Isaac,  and  the  time  which  they 
dwelt  in  Egypt  fiom  the  promotion  of  Joseph.  In- 
deed, strictly  speaking,  these  two  periods  contain 
four  hundred  and  Jive  years.  But  every  body  knows 
that  authors,  both  sacred  and  piofane,  to  avoid  frac- 
tions, sometimes  add  and  sometimes  diminish,  in 
their  calculations.  In  tlie  twelfth  chapter  of  Exo- 
dus, ver.  40.  Moses  saith,  "  The  children  of  Israel 
dwelt  in  Egypt  four  hundred  and  thirty  years;" 
but  it  is  beyond  a  doubt,  tliat  he  useth  a  concise 
way  of  speaking  in  this  passage,  and  tliat  the  Se- 
venty had  reason  for  paraphrasing  the  words  thus: 

*  This  whole  subject  is  treated  at  large  in  Mons.  Saurin*s 
xivth  Dissertation  on  the  Bible.     Tom.  Prem. 


340  The  Patience  of  God, 

"  The  sojourning  of  the  children  of  Israel,  in  the 
LAND  OF  Canaan,  and  in  the  land  of  Egypt  was 
four  hundred  and  thirty  years."  If  the  reasonable- 
ness of  tliis  paraphrase  be  allowed,  there  will  still 
remain  a  difference  of  thirty  years  between  the  time 
fixed  in  Genesis  by  the  Lord  for  the  conquest  of 
Canaan,  and  tlie  time  mentioned  by  Moses  in  Exo- 
dus, but  it  is  easy  to  reconcile  this  seeming  differ- 
ence, for  the  calculation  in  Genesis  begins  at  the 
birth  of  Isaac ;  but  the  other  commences  at  Abra- 
ham's arrival  in  Canaan.  The  reckoning  is  exact, 
for  Abraham  dwelt  twenty  five  years  in  Canaan  be- 
fore Isaac  was  born,  and  thei^e  were  four  hundred 
and  five  years  from  tlie  birth  of  Isaac  to  the  depar- 
ture out  of  Egypt.  This  is  the  meaning  of  the 
passage  quoted  from  Exodus,  and,  as  it  perfectly 
agrees  with  our  context,  we  shall  conclude  that  this 
first  article  is  sufficiently  explained. 

Our  second  regards  the  meaning  of  the  word  gen- 
eration, which  is  mentioned  in  the  context.  This 
term  is  equivocal :  sometimes  it  signifies  the  whole 
age  of  each  person  in  a  succession ;  and  in  this  sense 
the  evangelist  says,  that  "  from  Abraham  to  Uavid 
are  fourteen  generations,"  Mat.  i.  17.  Sometimes 
it  is  put  for  the  whole  duration  of  a  living  multi- 
tude; and  in  this  sense  Jesus  Christ  useth  it,  when 
he  saith  that  this  generation,  that  is,  all  his  cotem- 
poraries,  shall  not  pass  away,  till  his  prophecies  con- 
cerning them  were  fulfilled.  Sometimes  it  signifies 
a  period  of  ten  years ;  and  in  this  sense  it  is  used  in 
the  book  of  Baruch,  ch.  yi.  2. ;  the  captivity  in  Bab- 


The  Patience  of  God.  341 

ylon  which  continued  we  know,  seventy  years,  is 
there  said  to  remain  seven  generations. 

We  understand  the  word  now  in  the  first  sense, 
and  we  mean  that  from  the  arrival  of  the  Israelites 
in  Eg}  pt,  to  the  time  of  their  migration,  tliere  were 
four  successions:  The  first  was  the  generation  of 
Kohath,  the  son  of  Levi :  the  second  of  Amram  the 
son  of  Kohath  ;  the  tiiird  was  that  of  Moses  and 
Aaron  ;  and  the  fourth  was  that  of  the  children  of 
Moses  and  Aaron,  Ex.  vi.  16,  18,  20,  kc. 

Our  third  observation  relates  to  tlie  word  Amo- 
rites  in  our  text.  The  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is  not 
yet  full.  The  word  Amorites  hath  two  significations 
in  scripture ;  a  particular  and  a  general  meaning. 
It  hath  a  particular  meaning  when  it  denotes  the 
descendants  of  Hamor,  the  fourth  son  of  Canaan, 
wdio  first  inhabited  a  mountainous  country  westward 
of  the  .dead  sea,  and  afterward  spread  themselves 
eastward  of  that  sea,  between  the  rivers  Jabbok, 
and  Arnon,  having  dispossessed  the  Amorites  and 
Moabites.  Sihon  and  Oo;,  two  of  their  kin2:s  were 
defeated  by  Moses,    Gen.  x.  16.  and  Josh.  xii.  23. 

But  the  word  Amorites  is  sometimes  used  in  a 
more  general  sense,  and  denotes  ail  the  inhabitants 
of  Canaan.  To  cite  many  proofs  would  divert  our 
attention  too  far  from  our  principal  design,  let  it 
suflBce  therefore  to  observe  that  we  take  the  word 
in  our  text  in  this  general  meaning. 

But  what  crimes  does  tl^e  Spirit  of  God  include 
in  tlie  word  iniquity  ?  The  iniquity  of  the  Amorites 
is  not  yet  full.  Here  my  brethren,  a  detail  would 
be  horrid,  for  so  great  were  the  excesses  of  these 


342  The  Patience  of  God. 

people,  that  we  should  in  some  sense,  partake  of 
their  crimes,  by  attempting  to  give  an  exact  list  of 
them.  So  excessive  was  the  idolatry  of  the  Canaan- 
ites,  that  they  rendered  the  honors  of  supreme  adora- 
tion not  only  to  the  most  mean,  but  even  to  the  most 
impure  and  infamous  creatures.  Their  inhumanity 
was  so  excessive  that  they  sacrificed  their  own  chil- 
dren to  their  gods.  And  so  monstrous  was  their  sub- 
version, not  only  of  the  laws  of  nature,  but  even  of 
the  common  irregularities  of  human  nature,  that  a 
vice,  which  must  not  be  named,  was  openly  practi- 
sed :  and,  in  short,  so  scandalous  was  the  depravation 
of  religion  and  good  manners,  that  Moses,  after  he 
had  given  the  Israelites  laws  against  the  most  gross 
idolatry,  against  incest, against beastiality,  against  that 
other  crime,  which  our  dismal  circumstances  oblige 
us  to  mention,  in  spite  of  so  many  reasons  for- avoid- 
ing it ;  Moses,  I  say,  after  having  forbidden  all  these 
excesses  to  the  Israelites,  positively  declares  that 
the  Canaanites  were  guilty  of  them  all:  that  the 
earth  was  weary  of  such  execrable  monsters;  and 
that  for  these  crimes,  God  had  sent  the  Israelites  to 
destroy  them.  Dejile  not  yourselves,  says  he  in  the 
book  of  Leviticus,  xviii.  24,  25.  (after  an  enumera- 
tion of  the  most  shameful  vices  that  can  be  imagin- 
ed) "  Defile  not  yourselves  in  any  of  these  things, 
for  in  all  these,  the  nations  are  defiled  which  I  cast 
out  before  you.  Therefore  I  do  visit  the  iniquity 
thereof,  and  the  land  itself  vomiteth  out  her  inhabi- 
tants," ver.  30.  And  again  in  the  twelfth  chapter 
of  Deuteronomy,  "Take  heed  to  thyself,  that  thou 
be  not  snared  by  following  them,  after  that  they  be 


The  Patience  of  God.  343 

destroyed  from  before  thee,   and  that  thou  enquire 

not saying,  How  did  these  nations 

.  .  .  .  even  so  will  I  do  likewise."  Such  were 
the  iniquities  that  God  forbore  to  punish  for  many 
ages,  and  at  last  punished  with  a  severity,  in  appear- 
ance contrary  to  liis  equity :  but  there  is  nothing 
astonishing  in  it  to  those  who  consult  the  foremen- 
tioned  maxim,  that  is,  that  it  is  equitable  in  God  to 
proportion  the  punishments  of  guilty  nations  to  the 
time  granted  for  their  repentance. 

We  observe  lastly,  th^at,  though  God  in  his  infinite 
mercy  had  determined  to  bear  four  hundred  years 
longer  with  nations,  unworthy  of  his  patience,  there 
was  one  sin  excepted  from  this  general  goodness, 
there  was  one  of  their  iniquities  that  drew  down  tlie 
most  formidable  preternatural  punishments  upon 
those  who  committed  it,  and  forced  divine  justice  to 
anticipate,  by  a  swift  vengeance,  a  punishment, 
which,  in  other  cases,  was  deferred  for  four  whole 
ages.  8t.  Paul  paints  this  iniquity  in  the  most  odi- 
ous colours  in  the  first  of  Romans,  and  it  was  con- 
stantly punished  with  death  by  the  Jews.  Read 
with  a  holy  fear  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Genesis. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  cities  of  the  plain  were  pos- 
sessed with  a  more  than  brutal  madness.  Two  an- 
gels in  human  forms  are  sent  to  deliver  Lot  from 
the  judgments  which  are  about  to  destroy  them. 
Tl  e  amiable  borrowed  forms  of  these  intelligences 
strike  the  eyes  of  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom,  and  ex- 
cite their  abominable  propensities  to  sin.  A  crowd 
of  people,  young  and  old,  instantly  surround  the 
house  of  Lot,  in  order  to  seize  the  celestial  messen- 


344  The  Patience  of  God 

gers,  and  to  offer  violence  to  them,  and  though  they 
are  stricken  blind  they  persist  in  feeling  for  doors 
Avhich  they  cannot  see.  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  Ad- 
ma  and  Zeboim,  being  inhabited  by  none  but  peo- 
ple of  this  abominable  kind,  are  all  given  up  to  the 
vengeance  due  to  their  crimes.  The  Lord  rained 
Jire  and  brimstone  from  the  Lord,  Gen.  xix.  24.  The 
brimstone  enkindled  penetrates  so  far  into  the  veins 
of  bitumen,  and  other  inflammable  bodies  of  which 
the  ground  is  full,  that  it  forms  a  lake,  denominated 
in  scripture  the  dead  sea  ;  and,  to  use  the  words  of 
an  apocryphal  writer,  the  naste  land  that  smoketh, 
and  plants  bearing  fruit  that  never  come  to  ripeness^ 
are  even  to  this  day  a  testimony  of  the  wickedness  of 
the  Jive  cities.  Wis.  x.  7.  In  vain  had  Lot  vexed 
his  righteous  soul  from  day  to  day  ;  2  Pet.  ii.  8.  In 
vain  had  Abraham  availed  himself  of  all  the  inter- 
est that  piety  gave  him  in  the  compassion  of  a  mer- 
ciful God;  in  vain  had  the  abundance  of  his  fervent 
benevolence  said,  "  Behold  now,  I  have  taken  upon 
me  to  speak  unto  the  Lord,  who  am  but  dust  and 
ashes :  \Yilt  thou  also  destroy  the  righteous  with 
the  wicked  ?  Peradventure  there  be  fifty  righteous 
within  the  city;  peradventure  forty;  peradven- 
ture twenty ;  peradventure  ten :"  Gen.  xviii.  27,  23. 
kc.  The  decree  of  divine  vengeance  must  be  exe- 
cuted. Be  ivise  now  therefore,  O  ye  kings  ;  be  in- 
structed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth.  Ps.  ii.  10.  God  grant 
that  ye  may  never  know  any  thing  more  of  these 
terrible  executions  than  what  ye  learn  from  the  his- 
tory just  now  related ! 


The  Patience  of  Goi,  345 

I  return  to  my  subject,  except  to  that  part  of  it 
last  mentioned,  the  sin  of  the  cities  of  the  plain. 
The  iniquities  of  the  Canaanites  were  suffered  for 
more  than  four  hundred  years;  so  long  would  God 
defer  tlie  destruction  of  the  Amorites  by  Israel,  be- 
cause till  then  their  iniquity  would  not  have  attain- 
ed its  heiglit.  And  why  would  he  defer  the  destruc- 
tion of  these  miserable  people  till  their  iniquities 
should  have  attained  their  height?  This,  as  we  said 
in  the  beginning,  is  the  subject  upon  which  we  are 
going  to  fix  your  attention.  God  exerciseth  his 
patience  long  toward  the  most  wicked  people,  hav- 
ing borne  with  the  rebellion  of  ancestors,  he  bears 
with  the  rebellion  of  their  posterity,  and  whole  ages 
pass  without  visible  punishment :  but,  at  length,  col- 
lecting the  rebellions  of  parents  and  children  into 
one  point  of  vengeance,  he  poureth  out  his  indigna- 
tion on  whole  nations  that  have  abused  his  patience ; 
and,  as  I  advanced  before,  and  think  it  necessary  to 
repeat  again,  he  proportioneth  his  vindictive  visita- 
tions to  the  length  of  time  that  had  been  granted  to 
avert  them.  /  mill  judge  that  nation  whom  thy  de- 
scendants shall  serve,  but  it  shall  be  in  the  four  tu  gene- 
ration, because  the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  is  not  yet 
full. 

The  remaining  time  with  which  ye  condescend 
yet  to  favour  me,  I  shall  employ  in  considering, 

I.  The  nature  of  this  economy. 

II.  The  goodness  and  justice  which  characterise  it. 

III.  The  terrors  that  accompany  it. 

ly.  The  relation  which  it  bears  to  our  own  dis- 
mal circumstances. 

VOL.  I.  44 


346  The  Patience  of  God, 

Let  us  consider,  I.  The  nature  of  this  economy. 
Recollect  an  observation  that  hath  been  made  by 
most  of  those  who  have  laid  down  rules  to  assist  us 
in  reasoning  justly.  That  is,  that  we  are  sometimes 
to  consider  a  nation  in  a  moral  light,  as  a  person, 
consisting  of  a  body,  a  soul,  and  a  duration  of  life. 
All  the  people  w  ho  compose  this  nation  are  consid- 
ered as  one  body  :  the  maxims  which  direct  its  con- 
duct in  peace  or  in  w  ar,  in  commerce  or  in  religion, 
constitute  what  we  call  the  spirit,  or  soul  of  this  bo- 
dy. The  ages  of  its  continuance  are  considered  as 
the  duration  of  its  life.  This  parallel  might  be  ea- 
sily enlarged. 

Upon  this   principle,  we   attribute  to  those  w  ho 
compose  a   nation  now,   what,   properly  speaking, 
agrees  only  with  those  who  formerly  composed  it. 
Thus  we  say  that  the   same  nation  was   delivered 
from  bondage  in  Egypt  in  the  reign  of  Pharaoh, 
which  was  delivered  from  slavery  in  Babylon  in  the 
reign  of  Cyrus.     In  the   same   sense,  Jesus   Christ 
tells  the  .Jews  of  his  time,  Moses  gave  you  not  that 
bread  from  heaven,  John  vi.  32.  not  that  the  same 
persons  who  had  been  delivered  from  Egypt  were 
delivered  from  Babylon  ;  nor  that  the  Jews  to  whom 
Moses  had  given  manna  in  the  desert  were  the  same 
to  whom  Jesus  Christ  gave  bread  from  heaven  :  but 
because  the  Jews  who  lived  under  the  reign  of  Cy- 
rus,  and  those  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Pharaoh, 
those  who  lived   in  the  time  of  Moses,  and  those 
who  lived  in  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ,  were  consid- 
ered as  different  parts  of  that  moral  body,  called  the 
Jewish  nation. 


The  Patience  of  God,  347 

On  this  principle,  (and  this  has  a  direct  view  to 
onr  subject)  we  attribute  to  this  whole  body,  not 
only  those  physical,  but  even  those  moral  actions, 
which  belong  only  to  one  part  of  it.  We  ascribe 
the  praise,  or  the  blame  of  an  action  to  a  nation, 
though  those  who  performed  it  have  been  dead  ma- 
ny ages.  We  say  that  the  Romans,  who  had  cour- 
age to  oppose  even  the  shadow  of  tyranny  under 
their  consuls,  had  the  meanness  to  adore  tyrants  un- 
der their  emperors.  And  what  is  still  more  remark- 
able, we  consider  that  part  of  a  nation  which  contin- 
ues, responsible  for  the  crimes  of  that  which  subsists 
no  more. 

A  passage  in  the  gospel  of  St.  Luke  will  clearly 
illustrate  our  meaning.  "  W^o  unto  you :  for  ye 
build  the  sepulchres  of  the  prophets,  and  your  fa- 
thers killed  them;  and  ye  say.  If  we  had  been  in 
the  days  of  our  fathers,  we  would  not  have  been 
partakers  with  them  in  the  blood  of  the  prophets. 
Truly  ye  bear  witness,  that  ye  allow  the  deeds  of 
your  fathers:  for  they  indeed  killed  them,  and  ye 
build  their  sepulchres.  Therefore  also  said  the  wis- 
dom of  God,  I  will  send  them  prophets  and  apostles, 
and  some  of  them  they  shall  slay  and  persecute : 
that  the  blood  of  all  the  prophets,  which  was  shed 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  may  be  required 
of  this  generation  ;  from  the  blood  of  Abel,  unto 
the  blood  of  Zacharias,  which  perished  between  the 
altar  and  the  temple  :  verily  I  say  unto  you.  It  shall 
be  required  of  this  generation,"  Luke  xi.  47.  Mat. 
xxiii.  30. 


34S  The  Patience  of  God. 

We  will  not  enquire  now  what  Zacharias  is  here 
spoken  of.  Interpreters  are  not  agreed.  Some  say 
it  is  the  same  person  who  is  spoken  of  in  the  second 
book  of  Chronicles,  w4io  was  extraordinarily  raised 
up  to  stem  that  torrent  of  corruption  with  which  the 
Jews  were  carried  away  after  the  death  of  the  high 
priest  .lehoiada,  2  Chron.  xxiv.  20,  21.  He  succeed- 
ed his  father  Jehoiada  in  his  zeal,  and  fell  a  victim 
for  it,  for  he  was  stoned  to  death  in  the  porch  of 
the  temple,  by  those  whom  he  endeavoured  to  re- 
form. Others  say  that  it  is  a  Zacharias,  mentioned 
by  the  historian  .Joseph us,*  whose  virtue  rendered 
him  formidable  to  those  mad-men,  who  are  knoAvn 
by  the  name  of  zealots  ;  they  charged  him  unjustly 
w^ith  the  most  shocking  crimes,  and  put  him  to  death 
as  if  he  had  actually  committed  them.  A  third 
opinion  is,  that  it  is  he  w^hom  we  call  one  of  the 
lesser  prophets.  But,  not  to  detain  you  on  this  sub- 
ject which  perhaps  may  not  be  easily  determined, 
we  may  observe  in  our  Saviour's  words  the  manner 
of  considering  a  nation  as  a  moral  person,  w  ho  is 
responsible  at  one  time  for  crimes  committed  at  an- 
other, w^io  hath  been  borne  w^ith,  but  hath  abused 
that  forbearance,  and,  at  length,  is  punished  both 
for  committing  the  crimes,  and  for  abusing  the  for- 
bearance that  had  been  granted.  "  Yerily  I  say  un- 
to you,  upon  you  shall  come  all  the  righteous  blood 
shed  upon  the  earth  from  the  blood  of  righteous 
Abel,  unto  the  blood  of  Zacharias,  whom  ye  slew 
between  the  temple  and  the  altar." 

*  Bell.  Jud.  iv.  19. 


The  Patience  of  God,  349 

The  Amorites  in  my  text  must  be  considered,  in 
like  manner,  as  a  moral  person,  whose  life  God  had 
resolved,  when  he  spoke  to  Abraham,  to  prolong 
four  hundred  years;  who,  during  that  four  liundred 
years,  would  abuse  his  patience;  and  at  last  would 
be  punished  for  all  the  crimes  which  should  be  com- 
mitted in  that  long  period.  And  thai  nation  whom 
they  shall  serve  will  I  judge  :  But  in  the  fourth  gene- 
ration  they  shall  come  hither  again  j  for  the  iniquity 
of  the  Amorites  is  not  yet  full.  This  is  the  nature 
of  this  economy  of  Providence.  We  shall  see,  in 
a  second  article,  the  perfections  of  God  which  shine 
in  it,  and,  in  particular,  that  goodness,  and  that  jus- 
tice, which  eminently  characterise  all  his  actions. 

II.  It  is  extremely  easy  to  distinguish  the  good- 
ness of  this  economy,  and,  as  we  are  under  a  ne- 
cessity of  abridging  our  subject,  we  may  safely 
leave  this  article  to  your  own  meditation.  To  ex- 
ercise patience  four  hundred  years  toward  a  people 
who  worshipped  the  most  infamous  creatures;  a 
people  who  sacrificed  human  victims;  a  people 
abandoned  to  the  most  enormous  crimes ;  to  defer 
the  extinction  of  such  a  people  for  four  hundred 
years,  could  only  proceed  from  the  goodness  of 
that  God,  who  is  long-suffering  to  us-ward,  not  wil- 
ling  that  any  should  perish,  hut  that  all  should  come 
to  repentance,  2  Pet.  iii.  9. 

It  is  more  difficult  to  discover  the  justice  of  God  in 
this  economy.  What !  the  Jews,  Avho  lived  in  the 
time  of  Jesus  Christ,  could  they  be  justly  punished 
for  murders  committed  so  many  ages  before  their 
biiih?   What!  Could  they   be  responsible  for  the 


350-  The  Patience  of  God, 

blood  of  the  prophets,  in  which  their  hands  had  never 
been  imbrued  1  What  !  Could  God  demand  an  ac- 
count of  all  this  blood  of  them  ?  How  !  The  Canaan- 
ites  of  Joshua's  lime,  ought  they  to  be  punished  for 
all  the  abominations  of  four  himdred  years  ?  What ! 
Ought  we  to  terrify  you  to-day,  not  only  with  your 
own  sins,  but  with  all  those  that  have  been  commit- 
ted in  your  provinces  from  the  moment  of  their  first 
settlement  ? 

I  answer,  If  that  part  of  a  nation  which  subsists  in 
one  period  hath  no  union  of  time  with  that  which 
subsisted  in  another  period,  it  may  have  an  union  of 
another  kind,  it  may  have  even  four  different  unions, 
any  one  of  Avhich  is  sufficient  to  justify  Providence  : 
there  is  an  union  of  interest ;  an  union  of  approbation  ; 
an  union  of  emulation  ;  and  (if  ye  will  allow  the  ex- 
pression) an  union  of  accumulation.  An  union  of 
interest,  if  it  avail  itself  of  the  crimes  of  its  prede- 
cessors ;  an  union  of  approbation,  if  it  applaud  the 
sliameful  causes  of  its  prosperity ;  an  union  of  einu- 
lation,  if  it  follow  such  examples  as  ought  to  be  de- 
tested ;  an  union  of  accumulation,  if,  instead  of  mak- 
ing amends  for  these  faults,  it  reward  the  depravity 
of  those  who  commit  them.  In  all  these  cases,  God 
inviolably  maintains  the  laws  of  his  justice,  when  he 
uniteth  in  one  point  of  vengeance  the  crimes  which  a 
nation  is  committing  now  with  those  which  were  com- 
mitted many  ages  before,  and  poureth  out  those  judg- 
ments on  the  part  that  remains,  which  that  had  de- 
served Avho  had  lived  many  ages  ago.  Yes,  if  men 
peaceably  enjoy  the  usurpations  of  their  ancestors, 
they  are  usurpers,  as  their  predecessors  were,  and 


The  Palitnce  of  God,  351 

the  justice  of  God  may  make  these  responsible  for 
the  usurpations  of  those.  Thus  it  was  >vitli  the  Jews, 
who  lived  in  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ :  Thus  it  was 
w  ith  the  Amorites  who  lived  four  hundred  years  af- 
ter those  of  whom  God  spake  to  Abraham  :  and  thus 
we  must  expect  it  to  be  with  us,  for  we  also  shall 
deserve  the  punisliments  due  to  our  ancestors,  if  we 
have  any  one  of  the  unions  with  them  which  hath 
been  mentioned.  Your  meditation  will  supply  what 
is  wanting  to  this  article. 

It  sometimes  falls  out  in  this  economy,  that  the  in- 
nocent suffer  while  the  guilty  escape  :  But  neither 
this,  nor  any  other  inconvenience  that  may  attend 
this  economy,  is  to  be  compared  with  the  advanta- 
ges of  it.  The  obligation  of  a  citizen  to  submit  to 
the  decision  of  an  ignorant,  or  a  corrupt  judge,  is 
an  inconvenience  in  society :  however,  tliis  incon- 
venience ought  not  to  free  other  men  from  submit- 
ting to  decisions  at  law ;  because  the  benefits  that 
society  derive  from  a  judicial  mode  of  decision,  will 
exceed,  beyond  all  comparison,  the  evils  that  may 
attend  a  perversion  of  justice  in  a  very  few  cases. 
Society  would  be  in  continual  confusion,  were  the 
members  of  it  allowed  sometin^es  to  resist  the  deci- 
sions of  their  lawful  judges.  Private  disputes  would 
never  end  ;  public  quarrels  would  be  eternal;  and 
the  administration  of  justice  would  be  futile  and  use- 
less. 

Beside,  Providence  hath  numberless  ways  of  rem- 
edying the  inconveniences  of  this  just  economy,  and 
of  indemnifying  all  those  innocent  persons  who  may 
be  involved  in  punishments  due  to  the  guilty.     If, 


352  The  Patience  of  God, 

when  God  sendeth  fruitful  seasons  to  a  nation  to  re- 
ward their  good  use  of  tlie  fruits  of  the  earth,  an  in- 
diAddual  destitute  of  viilue,  reap  the  benefit  of  those 
who  are  viilueus,  an  infinitely  wise  Providence  can 
find  ways  to  poison  all  his  pleasures,  and  to  prevent 
his  enjoyment  of  the  prosperity  of  the  just.  If  an 
innocent  person  be  involved  in  a  national  calamity,  an 
infinitely  wise  Providence  knows  how  to  indemnify 
him  for  all  that  he  may  sacrifice  to  that  justice  which 
requires  that  a  notoriously  wicked  nation  should  be- 
come a  notorious  example  of  God's  abhorrence  of 
wickedness. 

Having  established  these  principles,  let  us  apply 
them  to  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  were  just 
now  quoted,  and  to  the  text. 

The  Jewish  nation,  considered  in  the  just  light  of  a 
moral  person,  was  guilty  of  an  innumerable  multi- 
tude of  the  most  atrocious  crimes.  It  had  not  only 
not  profited  by  the  earnest  exhortations  of  those  ex- 
traordinary men,  whom  heaven  had  raised  up  to  rec- 
tify its  mistakes,  and  to  reform  its  morals :  but  it 
had  risen  up  against  them  as  enemiesof  society,  who 
came  to  trouble  the  peace  of  mankind.  When  they 
had  the  courage  faithfully  to  reprove  the  excesses  of 
its  princes,  they  were  accused  of  opposing  the  regal 
authority  itself;  when  Ihey  ventured  to  attack  er- 
rors, that  were  in  credit  with  the  ministers  of  reli- 
gion, they  were  taxed  with  resisting  religion  it- 
self; and,  under  these  pretences,  they  were  frequent- 
ly put  to  death.  Witness  the  prophets  Isaiah  and 
Jeremiah,  the  apostle  St.  James,  and  Jesus  Christ 
himself. 


The  Patience  of  God.  353 

God  had  often  exhorted  that  nation  to  repent,  and 
had  urfi^ed  tlie  most  tender  and  the  most  terrible  mo- 
tives to  repentance :  one  while  he  loaded  it  with  be- 
nefits, another  while  he  threatened  it  with  punish- 
ments. Sometimes  he  supported  the  autliority  of 
his  messages  by  national  judgments ;  sermons  were 
legible  by  lightning,  and  thunder  procured  atten- 
tion, doctrines  were  reiterated  by  pestilence  and  fa- 
mine, and  exhortations  were  re-echoed  by  banish- 
ment and  war.  All  these  means  had  been  ineffectu- 
al ;  if  they  had  produced  any  alteration,  it  had  been 
only  an  apparent  or  a  momentary  change,  which 
had  vanished  with  the  violent  means  that  produced 
it.  The  .Jewish  nation  was  always  the  same  ;  always 
a  stiff-necked  nation  ;  alw  ays  inimical  to  truth,  and 
infatuated  with  falsehood ;  always  averse  to  reproof, 
and  athirst  for  the  blood  of  its  propliets.  What  the 
Jews  were  in  the  times  of  the  prophets,  that  tliey 
were  in  the  times  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles ; 
they  were  full  as  barbarous  to  Jesus  Christ  as  to 
Zechariah  the  son  of  Barachiah. 

A  time  must  come  in  which  divine  justice  ought  to 
prevent  the  fatal  consequences  of  a  longer  forbear- 
ance ;  a  time  in  which  the  whole  world  must  be  con- 
vinced that  God's  toleration  of  sinners  is  no  appro- 
bation of  sin  ;  a  time  when  general  vengeance  must 
justify  Providence,  by  rendering  to  all  ti  e  due  re- 
ward of  their  deeds.  Such  a  time  was  at  hand  when 
Jesus  Christ  spoke  to  the  Jews ;  and,  foreseeing  the 
miseries  that  would  overwhelm  .ludea,  he  told  them 
that  God  would  require  an  account,  not  only  of  the 
blood  of  all  the  prophets  which  they  had  spilt,  but 

TOL.    I.  45 


354  The  Patience  of  God, 

of  all  the  murders  that  had  been  committed  on  the 
earth  from  the  death  of  Abel  to  the  slaughter  of 
Zechariah. 

Thus  it  was  with  the  Amorites  :  and  thus  it  will 
be  with  your  provinces,  if  ye  avail  yourselves  of  the 
crimes  of  your  predecessors,  if  ye  extenuate  tlie 
guilt,  if  ye  imitate  the  practice,  if  ye  fill  up  the 
measure  of  their  iniquities;  then  divine  justice,  col- 
lecting into  one  point  of  vengeance  all  the  crimes 
of  the  nation,  will  inflict  punishments  proportional 
to  the  time  that  was  granted  to  avert  them.  Thus 
we  have  sufficiently  proved  the  justice  of  this  econ- 
omy. 

III.  Let  us  remark  the  terrors  that  accompany  this 
dispensation.  But  where  can  we  find  expressions 
sufficiently  sad,  or  images  sufficiently  shocking  and 
gloomy  to  describe  those  terrible  times  ?  The  soul 
of  Moses  dissolved  in  considering  them;  "by  thy 
wrath  we  are  troubled ;  thou  hast  set  our  iniquities 
before  thee,  our  secret  sins  in  the  light  of  thy  coun- 
tenance," Psal.  xc.  7,  8.  Every  thing  that  assuag- 
eth  the  anger  of  the  Judge  of  the  w  orld  is  useless 
here.  The  exercise  of  prayer,  that  exercise  which 
sinners  have  sometimes  used  with  success  to  the  sus- 
pending of  the  anger  of  God,  to  the  holding  of  his 
avenging  arm,  and  to  the  disarming  him  of  his 
vindictive  rod,  that  exercise  hath  lost  all  its  efficacy 
and  power;  God  "covereth  himself  w^ith  a  cloud 
that  prayer  cannot  pass  through,"  Lam.  iii.  44.  The 
intercession  of  venerable  men,  who  have  sometimes 
stood  in  the  breach,  and  turned  away  his  wrath,  can- 
not be  admitted  now ;  "  though  Moses  and  Samuel 


The  Patience  of  God.  355 

stood  before  God,  yet  his  mind  could  not  be  toward 
this  people,"  Jer.  xv.  1.  Those  sanctuaries  which  have 
been  consecrated  to  divine  worship, and  which  have  so 
often  afforded  refufijes  in  times  of  danger,  have  lost 
their  noble  privilege,  and  are  themselves  involved 
in  the  direful  calamity ;  "  The  Lord  casteth  off  his 
altar,  abhorreth  his  sanctuary,  giveth  up  into  the 
hand  of  the  enemy  the  walls  of  her  palaces,  and 
they  make  a  noise  in  tlie  house  of  the  Lord  as  in 
the  day  of  a  solemn  feast,"  Lam.  ii.  7,  The  cries 
of  children  which  have  sometimes  melted  down  the 
hearts  of  the  most  inflexible  enemies,  those  cries 
cannot  now  excite  the  mercy  of  God,  the  innocent 
creatures'  themselves  fall  victims  to  his  displeasure; 
"  the  sucklings  swoon  in  the  streets  of  the  city, 
they  say  to  their  mothers,  Where  is  corn  and  wine  ? 
The  hands  of  pitiful  women  seethe  their  own  chil- 
dren, they  are  their  meat  in  the  destruction  of  the 
daughter  of  my  people,"  Lam.  ii.  12.  iv.  10.  The 
treasures  of  grace  which  have  been  so  often  opened 
to  sinners,  and  from  which  they  have  derived  con- 
verting power,  in  order  to  free  them  from  the  exe- 
cutions of  justice,  these  treasures  are  now  quite  ex- 
hausted ;  God  saith,  "  I  will  command  the  clouds 
that  they  rain  no  rain  upon  my  vineyard :  Go,  make 
the  heart  of  this  people  fat,  and  make  their  ears  hea- 
vy, and  shut  their  eyes;  lest  they  see  with  their 
eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  understand  with 
their  hearts,  and  convert,  and  be  healed,"  Isa.  v.  6. 
vi.  9,  10.  O  God!  thou  consuming  fire!  O  God, 
"  to  whom  vengeance  belongeth,  how  fearful  a 
ihim  is  it  to  fall  into  thy  hands !"  Deut.  iv.  24.  P?aL 


356  The  Patience  of  God, 

xciv.  1.  How  dreadful  are  thy  footsteps,  when,  in 
the  cool  fierceness  of  thine  indignation,  thou  com- 
est  to  fall  upon  a  sinner!  "  The  blood  of  all  the 
prophets,  which  was  shed  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world,  shall  be  required  of  this  ^enerati^m : 
from  the  blood  of  Abel  to  the  blood  of  Zecliarias; 
verily  I  say  unto  you,  it  shall  be  required  of  this 
generation,"  Heb.  x.  31. 

IV.  To  conclude.  We  have  proved  that  there  is 
a  fatal  period,  in  which  God  will  unite  the  sins  of  a 
nation  in  one  point  of  vengeance,  and  will  proportion 
the  punishments,  Avhich  he  used  to  exterminate  them, 
to  the  length  of  time  that  he  had  granted  for  prevent- 
ing them.  And  from  this  principle,  which  Avill  be  the 
gi'ound  of  our  exhortations  in  the  close  of  this  dis- 
course, I  infer,  that  as  there  is  a  particular  repent- 
ance imposed  on  every  member  of  society,  so  there 
is  a  national  repentance,  which  regards  all  who  com- 
pose a  nation.  The  repentance  of  an  individual  dotji 
not  consist  in  merely  asking  pardon  for  his  sins,  and 
in  endeavouring  to  correct  the  bad  habits  that  he  had 
formed ;  but  it  requires  also,  that  the  sinner  should 
go  back  to  his  first  years,  remember,  as  far  as  he  can, 
the  sins  that  defiled  his  youth,  lament  every  period 
of  his  existence,  which,  having  been  signalized  by 
some  divine  favour,  was  also  signalized  by  some  marks 
of  ingratitude  ;  it  requireth  him  to  say,  under  a  sor- 
rowful sense  of  having  offended  a  kind  and  tender 
God,  "  I  was  stiapen  in  iniquity  :  and  in  sin  did  my 
mother  conceive  me.  O  Lord,  remember  not  the 
sins  of  my  youth.  Wilt  thou  break  a  leaf  driven  to 
and  fro  ?  Wilt  thou  piu:sue  the  dry  stubble  ?  Thou 


The  Patience  of  God.  357 

makest  me  to  possess  the  iniquities  of  my  youth !" 
Psal.  li.  5.  Job  xiii.  25,  26.  In  like  manner,  the  re- 
pentance of  a  nation  doth  not  consist  in  a  bare  atten- 
tion to  present  disorders,  and  to  the  hixury  that  now 
cry  to  the  Judg^e  of  the  world  for  vengeance :  but  it 
requheth  us  to  go  back  to  the  times  of  our  ancestors, 
and  to  examine  whether  we  be  now  enjoying  the  wa- 
ges of  their  umighteousness,  and  whether,  while  we 
flatter  ourselves  with  the  opinion,  that  we  have  not 
committed  their  vices,  we  be  not  now  relishing  pro- 
ductions of  them.  Without  this  we  shall  be  respon- 
sible for  the  very  vices  which  they  committed,  though 
time  had  almost  blotted  out  the  remembrance  of  them; 
and  the  justice  of  God  tliieatened  to  involve  us  in  the 
same  punishments :  "  The  blood  of  all  the  prophets, 
which  was  shed  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
shall  be  required  of  this  generation  :  from  the  blood 
of  Abel  to  the  blood  of  Zecharias :  verily  I  say  un- 
to you,  it  shall  be  required  of  this  generation." 

Dreadful  thought !  my  brethren.  A  thought  that 
may  very  justly  disturb  that  shameful  security,  into 
which  our  nation  is  sunk.  I  tremble,  when  I  think 
of  some  disorders,  which  my  eyes  have  seen  during 
the  course  of  my  ministry  among  you.  I  do  not  mean 
llie  sins  of  individuals,  which  would  fill  a  long  and  a 
very  mortifying  list :  I  mean  public  sins,  committed 
in  the  face  of  the  sun ;  maxims,  received,  in  a  man- 
ner, by  church  and  state,  and  which  loudly  cry  to 
heaven  for  vengeance  against  this  republic.  In  these 
degenerate  times,  I  iiave  seen  immorality  and  infi- 
delity authorised  by  a  connivance  at  scandalous  books, 
which  are  intended  to  destroy  the  distinctions  of  vice 


358  The  Palience  of  God. 

and  virtue,  and  to  make  the  difference  between  just 
and  unjust  appear  a  mere  chimera.  In  these  degen- 
erate days,  I  have  seen  the  oppressed  church  cry  in 
vain  for  succour  for  her  children,  while  the  reforma- 
tion of  the  church  was  sacrificed  to  the  policy  of  the 
state.  In  this  degenerate  age,  I  have  seen  solemn 
days  insolently  profaned  by  those,  whom  worldly 
decency  alone  ought  to  have  engaged  to  observe  them. 
In  these  days  of  depravity,  I  have  seen  hatred  and 
discord  lodge  among  us,  and  labour  in  the  untoward 
work  of  reciprocal  ruin.  In  these  wretched  times,  I 
have  seen  the  spirit  of  intolerance  unchained  with  all 
its  rage,  and  the  very  men,  who  incessantly  exclaim 
against  the  persecutions  that  have  affected  themselves, 
turn  persecutors  of  others  :  so  that,  at  the  close  of  a 
religious  exercise,  men,  who  ought  to  have  remem- 
bered what  they  had  heard,  and  to  have  applied  it  to 
themselves,  have  been  known  to  exercise  their  ingen- 
uity in  finding  heresy  in  the  sermon,  in  communica- 
ting the  same  wicked  industry  to  their  families,  and 
to  their  children,  and,  under  pretence  of  religion,  in 
preventing  all  the  good  effects  that  religious  dis- 
courses might  have   produced.     In  this  degenerate 


age. 


But  this  shameful  list  is  already  too  long.  Doth 
this  nation  repent  of  its  past  sins  ?  Doth  it  lament 
the  crimes  of  its  ancestors  ?  Alas !  far  from  repent- 
ing of  our  past  sins,  far  from  lamenting  the  crimes 
of  our  ancestors,  doth  not  the  least  attention  per- 
ceive new  and  more  shocking  excesses  ?  The  wretch- 
ed age  in  which  Providence  hath  placed  us,  doth  it 
not  seem  to  have  taken  that  for  its  model,  against 


The  Patience  oj  God,  359 

which  God  displayed  his  vens;eance,  as  we  have 
been  describing  in  this  discourse  ?  Were  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  AdmahandZeboim  destroyed  by  fire  from 
heaven  for  sins  unknown  to  us  ?  And  God  knows, 
God  only  knows,  what  dreadful  discoveries  the  for- 
midable but  pious  vigilance  of  our  magistrates  may 
still  make.  O  God,  "  Behold  now  I  have  taken  up- 
on me  to  speak  unto  thee,  altliough  I  am  but  dust 
and  ashes.  Wilt  thou  also  destroy  the  righteous 
with  the  wicked  ?  peradventure  there  be  fifty  right- 
eous among  us  ?  peradventure  forty  ?  peradventure 
thirty  ?  peradventure  twenty  ?  peradventure  ten  ?" 
Gen.  xviii.  25,  &c. 

My  brethren,  God  yet  bears  with  you,  but  how 
long  he  will  bear  with  you,  who  can  tell  ?  And  do 
not  deceive  yourselves,  his  forbearance  must  pro- 
duce, in  the  end,  either  your  conversion  or  your  de- 
struction. The  Lord  grant  it  may  produce  your 
conversion,  and  so  iniquity  shall  not  he  your  ruin^ 
Ezek.  xviii.  30.     Amen. 


SERMON  XI. 

The  Lorig-Siiffering  of  God  with  Lidividucds, 

EccLESiASTES  viii.  11,  12. 

Because  sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  excctifed 

speedih/,   therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is 

fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil.     For  the  sinner   doth 

evil  an  hundred  times,  and   God    prolongeth  his 

dajs.^ 

JL  HE  wise  man  points  out,  in  the  words  of  the 
text,  one  general  cause  of  the  impenitence  of  man* 
kind.  The  disposition  to  which  he  attributes  it,  I 
own,  seems  shocking,  and  ahuost  incredible :  but  if 
we  examine  our  deceitful  and  desperately  wicked 
hearts,  Jer.  xvii.  9.  we  shall  find,  that  this  disposi- 
tion, which,  at  first  sight,  seems  so  shocking,  is  one 
of  those,  with  which  we  are  too  well  acquainted. 
'*  The  heart  of  the  sons  of  men  is  fully  set  to  do 
evil."  Why  ?  "  Because  sentence  against  an  evil 
work  is  not  executed  speedily." 

This  shameful,  but  too  common,  inclination,  we 
wuU  endeavour  to  expose,  and  to  shew  you  that  the 
long-suffering,  which  the  mercy  of  God  grants  to 
sinners,  may  be  abused  either  in  the  disposition  of 

*  We  have  followed  the  reading  of  the  French  Bible  in  this  pas- 
sage. 

VOL.    T.  46 


362  The  Lotig'Suffering  of 

a  devil,  or  in  that  of  a  beast,  or  in  that  of  a  philoso- 
pher, or  in  that  of  a  man. 

He,  who  devotes  his  health,  his  prosperity,  and 
his  youth,  to  offend  God,  and,  while  his  punish- 
ment is  deferred,  to  invent  new  ways  of  blasphem- 
ing him ;  he,  who  followeth  such  a  shameful  course 
of  life,  abuseth  the  patience  of  God  in  the  disposi- 
tion of  a  devil. 

He,  who  enervates  and  impairs  his  reason,  either 
by  excessive  debauchery,  or  by  worldly  dissipations, 
by  an  effeminate  luxury,  or  by  an  inactive  stupidi- 
ty, and  pays  no  regard  to  the  great  end  for  which 
God  permits  him  to  live  in  this  world,  abuseth  the 
patience  of  God  in  the  disposition  of  a  beast. 

He,  who  from  the  long-suffering  of  God  infers 
consequences  against  his  providence,  and  against  his 
hatred  of  sin,  is  in  the  disposition,  of  which  my  text 
speaks,  as  a  philosopher. 

He,  who  concludes  because  the  patience  of  God 
hath  continued  to  this  day  that  it  will  always  con- 
tinue, and  makes  such  a  hope  a  motive  to  persist  in 
sin  without  repentance  or  remorse,  abuseth  the  pa- 
tience of  God  in  the  disposition  of  a  jnan.  As  I 
shall  point  out  these  principles  to  you,  I  shall  shew 
you  the  injustice  and  extravagance  of  them. 

I.  To  devote  health,  prosperity,  and  youth,  to  of- 
fend God,  and  to  invent  new  ways  of  blaspheming 
him,  while  the  punishment  of  him  who  leads  such  a 
shameful  life  is  deferred,  is  to  abuse  the  long-suffer- 
ing of  God  like  a  devil. 

The  majesty  of  this  place,  the  holiness  of  my  min- 
istry, and  the  delicacy  of  my  hearers,  forbid  preci- 


God  with  Individuals.  363 

sion  on  this  article,  for  there  would  be  a  shocking 
impropriety  in  exhibiting  a  well-drawn  portrait  of 
such  a  man.  But,  if  it  is  criminal  to  relate  such  ex- 
cesses, what  must  it  be  to  commit  them?  It  is  but 
too  certain,  however,  that  nature  sometimes  produ- 
ce! h  such  infernal  creatures,  who,  with  the  bodies  of 
men,  have  the  sentiments  of  devils.  Thanks  be  to 
God,  the  characters,  which  belong  to  this  article,  must 
be  taken  from  other  countries,  though  not  from  an- 
cient history. 

I  speak  of  those  abominable  men,  to  whom  liv- 
ing and  moving  would  be  intolerable,  were  they  to 
pass  one  day  without  insulting  the  author  of  their 
life  and  motion.  The  grand  design  of  all  their  ac- 
tions is  to  break  down  every  boundary,  that  either 
modesty,  probity,  or  even  a  corrupt  and  irregular 
conscience  hath  set  to  licentiousness.  They  bitter- 
ly lament  the  paucity  of  the  ways  of  violating  their 
Creators  laws,  and  they  employ  all  the  power  of 
their  wit,  the  play  of  their  fancy,  and  the  fire  of 
their  youth,  to  supply  the  want.  Like  that  impious 
king,  of  whom  the  scripture  speaks,  Dan.  v.  2.  they 
carouse  with  the  sacred  vessels,  and  them  they  pro- 
fanely abuse  in  their  festivity  :  them  did  I  say  ?  The 
most  solemn  truths,  and  the  most  venerable  myste- 
ries of  religion,  they  take  into  their  polluted  mouths, 
and  display  their  infidelity  and  impurity  in  ridicul- 
ing them.  They  hurry  away  a  life,  which  is  be- 
come insipid  to  them,  because  they  have  exhausted 
all  resources  of  blasphemy  against  God,  and  they 
hasten  to  hell  to  learn  others  of  the  infernal  spirits, 
their  patterns  and  their  protectors. 


364  The  Long-suffering  of 

Let  us  throw  a  vail,  my  brethren,  over  these 
abominations,  and  let  us  turn  away  our  eyes  from 
objects  so  shameful  to  human  nature.  But  how 
comes  it  to  pass,  that  rational  creatures,  having 
ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  arrive  at  such  a  subver- 
sion of  reason,  and  such  a  degree  of  corru[)tion,  as 
to  be  pleased  with  a  course  of  life,  which  carries  its 
pains  and  punishments  with  it  ? 

Sometimes  this  phenomenon  must  be  attributed  to 
a  vicious  education.  We  seldom  pay  a  sufficient 
regard  to  the  influence  that  education  hath  over  the 
whole  life.  We  often  entertain  false,  and  oftener 
still  inadequate  notions  of  what  is  called  a  good  ed- 
2ication.  We  have  given,  it  is  generally  thought,  a 
good  education  to  a  youth,  when  we  have  taught 
him  an  art,  or  trained  him  up  in  a  science  ;  when 
we  have  instructed  liim  how  to  arrange  a  few  dry 
words  in  bis  head,  or  a  few  crude  notions  in  his  fan- 
cy ;  and  we  are  highly  satisfied  when  we  have  intrust- 
ed the  cultivaiijii  of  his  tender  heart  to  a  man  of 
probity.  We  forget  that  the  venom  of  sin  impreg- 
nates the  air  that  he  breathes,  and  communicates  it- 
self to  him  by  all  that  he  sees,  and  by  all  that  he 
hears.  If  we  vvould  give  young  people  a  good  edu- 
cation, we  must  forbid  them  all  acquaintance  with 
those  who  do  not  delight  in  decency  and  piety :  we 
must  never  suffer  them  to  hear  debauchery  and  im- 
piety spoken  of  without  detestation:  we  must  fur- 
nish them  with  precautions  previous  to  their  travels, 
in  which,  under  pretence  of  acquainting  themselves 
with  the  manners  of  foreigners,  they  too  often  adopt 
nothing  but  their  vices:    we  must  banish  from  our 


God  with  Individuals.  365 

universities  those  shocking  irregularities,  and  anni- 
hilate those  dangerous  privileges,  which  make  the 
means  of  education  the  very  causes  of  corruption 
and  ruin. 

Sometimes  these  excesses  are  owing  to  the  conni- 
vance, or  the  countenance  of  princes.  We  have  nev- 
er more  reason  to  predict  the  destruction  of  a  state 
than  when  the  reins  of  government  are  committed  to 
jnen  of  a  certain  character.  It  Avill  require  ages  to 
heal  the  wounds  of  one  impious  reign.  An  iireli- 
gious  reign  emboldens  vice,  and  muhiplies  infamous 
places  for  the  commission  of  it.  In  an  UTeligious 
reign  scandalous  books  are  published,  and  it  becomes 
fashionable  to  question  whether  there  be  a  God  in 
heaven,  or  any  real  difference  between  virtue  and 
vice  on  earth.  In  the  space  of  an  irreligious  reign 
offices  are  held  by  imworthy  persons,  who  either 
abolish,  or  suffer  to  languish,  the  laws  that  policy 
liad  provided  against  impiety.  Histories,  more  re- 
cent than  those  of  Tiberius  and  Nero,  would  too  ful- 
ly exemplify  our  observations,  were  not  the  majesty 
of  princes,  in  some  sort,  respectable,  even  after  they 
arc  no  more. 

Sometimes  these  excesses,  which  offer  violence  to 
nature,  are  caused  by  a  gratification  of  those  which 
are  agreeable  to  the  corruption  of  nature.  Ordinary 
sins  become  insipid  by  habit,  and  sinners  are  forced, 
having  arrived  at  some  periods  of  corruption,  to  en- 
deavour to  satisfy  their  execrable  propensities  by 
the  comiuission  of  those  crim.es,  which  once  made 
them  shudder  with  horror. 


366  The  Long-suffering  of 

To  all  these  reasons  add  the  judgment  of  divine 
Providence;  for  God giveth  those  up  to  itnckanness, 
Rom.  i.  24.  who  have  made  no  use  of  tJie  means  of 
instruction  and  piety  which  he  had  afforded  them. 

I  repeat  my  thanksgivings  to  God,  the  protector 
of  these  states,  that  among  our  youth,  (thou,«:h,  alas ! 
so  far  from  that  piety  which  persons,  dedicated  to 
God  by  baptism,  ought  to  possess)  we  have  none  of 
this  character.  Indeed,  had  we  such  a  monster 
among  us,  we  should  neither  oppose  bim  by  private 
advice  nor  by  public  preaching :  but  we  should 
think  that  the  arm  of  the  secular  magistrate  was  a 
likelier  mean  of  repulsing  him  than  the  decision  of  a 
casuist.  Let  none  be  offended  at  tins.  Our  ministry 
is  a  ministry  of  compassion,  I  grant ;  and  we  are 
i=«ent  by  a  master  who  willeth  not  the  death  of  a  sin- 
ner :  but,  if  we  thought  that  compassion  obliged  us 
on  any  occasions  to  implore  your  clemency,  my 
Lords,  for  some  malefactors,  whom  your  wise  laws, 
and  the  safety  of  society,  condemn  to  die,  we  would 
rather  intercede  for  assassins,  and  highway  robbers, 
yea  for  those  miserable  wretches,  whose  execrable 
avarice  tempts  them  to  import  infected  commodities, 
which  expose  our  own  and  our  children's  lives  to  the 
plague  ;  for  these  we  would  rather  intercede,  than 
for  those,  whose  dreadful  examples  are  capable  of 
infecting  the  minds  of  our  cliildren  with  infernal 
maxims,  and  of  rendering  these  piovinces  like  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  Admah  and  Zeboim,  first  by  involv- 
ing them  in  the  guilt,  and  then  in  the  fiery  punish- 
ment of  those  detestable  cities. 


God  with  Individuals.  367 

Where  the  sword  of  tlie  maj^istrate  doth  not  pun- 
ish, that  of  divine  ven2:eance  will :  but,  as  it  would 
be  difficult  for  imagination  to  conceive  the  greatness 
of  tlie  punishments  tliat  await  such  sinners,  it  is  need- 
less to  adduce  the  reasons  of  them.  Our  first  notions 
of  God  are  vindictive  to  such,  and  as  soon  as  we  are 
convinced  that  there  is  a  just  God,  the  day  appears 
in  which,  falling  upon  lliese  unworthy  men,  he  will 
address  them  in  this  thundering  language :  Depart, 
depart,  into  tlie  source  of  your  pleasures ;  depart  in- 
to everlasting Ji re  with  all  your  associates;  do  for 
ever  and  ever  what  ye  have  been  doing  in  your  life- 
time ;  having  exhausted  my  patience,  experience  the 
power  of  my  anger ;  and  as  ye  have  had  the  disposi- 
tions of  devils,  suffer  for  ever  the  punishments  pre- 
pared for  the  devil  and  his  angels,  JVIat.  xxv.  41. 

II.  A  man  may  be  in  the  disposition,  of  which  the 
wise  man  speaks  in  the  text,  through  stupidity  and 
indolence,  and  this  second  state  confounds  the  man 
with  the  hcast.  There  is  nothing  hyperbolical  in 
this  proposition.  What  makes  tl  e  difference  be- 
tween a  man  and  a  beast  ?  These  are  the  distinguish- 
ing characters  of  each.  The  one  is  confined  to  a 
short  duration,  and  to  a  narrow  circle  of  present 
objects  ;  i\\e  other  hath  received  of  his  Creator  the 
power  of  going  beyond  time,  and  of  penetrating 
by  his  meditation  into  remote  futurity,  yea  even 
into  an  endless  eternity.  The  one  is  actuated  only 
by  sensual  appetites  ;  the  other  hath  the  faculty  of 
rectifying  his  senses  by  the  ideas  of  his  mind.  The 
one  is  carried  away  by  the  heat  of  his  tempeiament ; 
the  other  hath  the  power  of  cooling  temperament 


368  The  Long-guff'ering  of 

with  reflection.  The  one  knows  no  argument  nor 
motive  but  sensation  ;  the  other  hath  the  power  of 
making  motives  of  sensation  yield  to  the  more  noble 
and  permanent  motives  of  interest.  To  imitate  the 
first  kind  of  these  creatures,  is  to  live  like  a  beast; 
to  follow  the  second,  is  to  live  like  a  man. 

Let  us  apply  this  general  truth  to  the  particular 
subject  in  hand,  and  let  us  justify  what  we  have  ad- 
vanced, that  there  is  nothing  hyperbolical  in  this 
proposition.  If  there  be  a  subject  that  merits  the 
attention  of  an  intelligent  soul,  it  is  the  long-suffer- 
ing of  God:  And  if  there  be  a  case,  in  which  an  in- 
telligent creature  ought  to  use  the  faculty,  that  his 
Creator  hath  given  him  of  going  beyond  the  circle 
of  present  objects,  of  rectifying  the  actions  of  his 
senses  by  the  ideas  of  his  mind,  and  of  correcting 
his  temperament  by  reflection,  it  is  certainly  the 
case  of  that  sinner  with  whom  God  hath  borne  so 
long. 

Miserable  man !  ought  he  to  say  to  himself,  I 
have  committed,  not  only  those  sins,  which  ordina- 
rily belong  to  the  frailty  and  depravity  of  mankind, 
but  those  also  which  are  a  shame  to  human  nature, 
and  which  suppose  that  he  who  is  guilty  of  them 
Lath  carried  his  corruption  to  the  highest  pitch!  O 
miserable  man !  I  have  committed  not  only  one  of 
the  sins,  which  the  scripture  saith,  deprive  those  who 
commit  them  o^  inheriting  the  kingdom  of  God,  1  Cor. 
vi.  10.  but  I  have  lived  many  years  in  the  practice 
of  such  sins;  in  the  impurity  of  effeminacy  and 
adultery,  in  the  possession  of  unjust  gain,  in  the 
gloomy  revolutions  of  implacable  hatred!  Misera- 


God  with  Individuals,  369 

ble  nian !  I  have  abused,  not  only  the  ordinary  means 
of  conversion,  but  also  those  extraordinary  means, 
which  God  grants  only  to  a  few,  and  which  he  seems 
to  have  displayed  on  purpose  to  shew  liow  far  a  God 
of  loA'e  can  carry  his  love !  Miserable  man !  I  was 
not  only  engaged  as  a  man  and  a  professor  of  Chris- 
tianity to  give  an  example  of  piety,  but  I  was  also 
engaged  to  do  it  as  a  minister,  as  a  magistrate,  as  a 
parent;  yet,  in  spite  of  all  my  unworthiness,  God 
hath  borne  with  me,  and  hath  preserved  me  in  this 
world,  not  only  while  prosperity  was  universal,  but 
while  calamities  were  almost  general,  while  the 
sword  was  glutting  itself  with  blood,  while  the  de- 
stroying angel  was  exterminating  on  every  side,  as 
if  he  intended  to  make  the  whole  world  one  vast 
grave !  All  this  time  God  hath  been  showering  his 
blessings  upon  me !  upon  me  the  chief  of  sinners ! 
me  his  declared  enemy !  blessings  that  he  promised 
to  bestow  as  privileges  on  his  favourites  only !  / 
dwelt  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  I  abode 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty  I  Psal.  xci.  1. 

I  ask,  my  brethren,  whether  if  there  be  a  state  in 
which  an  intelligent  creature  ought  to  meditate  and 
reflect,  it  be  not  the  state  of  the  sinner  ?  If  I  prove 
then,  that  there  are  men  in  this  state,  who  neither 
think  nor  reflect,  because  they  confine  their  atten- 
tion to  the  circle  of  present  objects,  abandon  them- 
selves wholly  to  sensuality,  and  give  themselves  up 
entirely  to  their  constitutional  vices;  shall  I  not 
have  proved  that  there  are  men,  who  like  beasts  are 
indifferent  to  the  riches  of  the  forbearance  and  long- 
suffering  of  God  ?  Rom.  ii.  4.     But  where  shall  we 

VOL.  I.  47 


370  The  Long-suffering  of 

find  such  people  ?  Shall  we  search  for  them  in  fa- 
bulous history,  or  look  for  them  in  ancient  chroni- 
cles? Slmll  we  quote  the  relations  of  those  travel- 
lers, wIjo  seem  to  aim  less  at  instructing^  us  by  pub- 
lishinoj  true  accounts,  than  at  astonishing  us  by  re- 
portinor  uncommon  events?  Alas!  Alas!  my  dear 
biethren,  I  fear  I  have  tern  too  confident,  and  had 
not  sufficiently  propoitioned  my  strength  to  my 
courage,  when  I  engaged  at  tie  beginning  of  this 
discourse   to    confront   certain   portraits    with    the 

countenances  of  some  of  my  hearers , 

But,  no,  the  truth  ought  not  to  suffer 
through  the  frailty  of  him  whose  office  it  is  to  pub- 
lish it. 

Tell  us  then,  what  distinguisheth  the  man  from 
the  beast,  in  that  worshipper  of  Mammon,  who  hav- 
ing spent  his  life  in  amassing  and  hoarding  up 
wealth,  in  taxing  the  widow,  the  orphan,  and  the 
ward,  to  satiate  his  avarice ;  having  defrauded  the 
state,  deceived  his  correspondents,  and  betrayed  his 
tenderest  friends;  having  accumulated  heaps  upon 
heaps,  and  having  only  a  few  days  respite,  which 
Providence  hath  granted  him  for  the  repentance  of 
his  sins,  and  the  restitution  of  his  iniquitous  gains ; 
employs  these  last  moments  in  offering  incense  to  his 
idol,  spends  his  last  breath  in  enlarging  his  income, 
in  lessening  his  expenses,  and  in  endeavouring  to 
gratify  that  insatiable  desire  of  getting  which  gnaws 
and  devours  him  ? 

Tell  us  what  distinguisheth  the  man  from  the  beast, 
in  that  old  debauchee,  who  thinks  of  nothing  but  vo- 
luptuousness ;   who  to  sensuality  sacrificeth  his  time, 


God  with  Individuals,  371 

his  foi-tune,  his  reputation,  his  health,  his  soul,  his 
salv^ation,  alonoj  with  all  his  pretensions  to  iinniortal- 
ity ;  and  wlio  would  willingly  comprehend  the  whole 
of  man  in  this  definition,  a  being  capable  of  wallow- 
ing in  voluptuousness? 

Tell  us  what  distinguisheth  the  man  from  the  beast, 
in  that  man,  who  not  l^eing  able  to  bear  the  remorse 
of  his  OAvn  conscience,  nor  the  idea  of  the  vanity  of 
this  world,  to  which  he  is  wholly  devoted ;  drowns 
his  reason  in  wine,  gives  himself  up  to  alt  the  exces- 
ses of  drunkenness,  exposeth  himself  to  the  dan- 
ger of  committing  some  bloody  murder,  or  of  per- 
ishing by  some  tragical  death,  of  which  we  have 
too  many  melancholy  examples ;  not  only  unfits  him- 
self for  repenting  now,  but  even  renders  himself  in- 
capable of  repenting  at  all  ?  What  is  a  penitent  re- 
conciliation to  God  ?  It  includes,  at  least  reflection 
^nd  thought,  the  laying  down  of  principles  and  the 
deducing  of  consequences  :  but  people  of  this  kind, 
Ihrough  their  excessive  intoxication,  generally  inca- 
pacitate themselves  for  inferring  a  consequence,  or 
admitting  a  principle,  and  even  for  reflecting  and 
t!  inking ;  as  experience,  experience  superior  to  all 
our  reasoning,  hath  many  a  time  shewn. 

But  is  it  necessary  to  reason  in  order  to  discover 
the  injustice  of  this  disposition  ?  Do  ye  really  think 
that  God  created  you  capable  of  reflection  that  ye 
should  never  reflect  ?  Do  ye  indeed  believe  that  God 
gave  you  so  many  fine  faculties  that  ye  should  make 
no  use  of  these  faculties  ?  In  a  word,  can  ye  serious- 
ly thiiik  that  God  made  you  men  in  order  to  enable 
you  to  live  like  beasts  ? 


372  The  Long-suffering  of 

III.  I  said,  in  the  third  place,  that  the  disposition 
of  which  the  wise  man  speaks  in  tlie  text,  sometimes 
proceeds  from  a  principle  of  grave  folly.  So  I  call 
the  principle  of  some  philosophers,  who  imagine 
that  they  find  in  the  delay  of  the  pimisliment  of  sin- 
ners, an  invincible  argmiient  against  the  existence  of 
God,  at  least  against  the  infinity  of  his  perfections. 

We  do  not  mean  by  a  philosopher,  that  superficial 
triiler,  who  not  having  the  least  notion  of  right  rea- 
soning, takes  the  liberty  sometimes  of  pretending  to 
reason,  and  with  an  air  of  superiority,  which  might 
impose  on  us  were  we  to  be  imposed  on  by  a  tone, 
saith,  "  The  learned  maintain  such  an  opinion :  but  1 
affirm  the  opposite  opinion.  Casuists  advance  such 
a  maxim  :  but  I  lay  down  a  very  different  maxim. 
Pastors  hold  such  a  system ;  but,  for  my  part,  I 
hold  altogether  another  system."  And  who  is  he 
who  talks  in  this  decisive  tone,  and  who  alone  pre- 
tends to  contradict  all  our  ministers,  and  all  our 
learned  men;  the  whole  church,  and  the  whole 
school  ?  It  is  sometimes  a  man,  whose  whole  science 
consists  in  the  casting  up  of  a  sum.  It  is  sometimes 
a  man,  who  hath  spent  all  his  life  in  exercises,  that 
have  not  the  least  relation  to  the  subject  which  he 
so  arrogantly  decides ;  and  who  thinks,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  to  say  so,  that  arguments  are  to  be  com- 
manded as  he  commands  a  regiment  of  soldiers.  In 
a  word,  they  are  men,  for  the  most  part,  who  know 
neither  what  a  system,  nor  a  maxim  is.  Let  not 
such  people  imagine  that  they  are  addressed  as 
philosophers ;    for  we  cannot  address  them  without 


God  with  Individaals,  373 

repealing  wliat  Lath  been  said  in  the  preceding  arti- 
cle, which  is  tlieir  proper  place. 

We  mean,  wlien  we  speak  of  men  who  despise 
the  long-sufiering  of  God  as  philosophers,  people  who 
have  taken  as  much  pains  to  arrive  at  infidelity,  as 
they  ought  to  have  taken  to  obtain  tlie  knowledge 
of  the  truth  :  who  have  studied  as  much  to  palliate 
error,  as  they  ought  to  have  studied  to  expose  it: 
who  have  gone  through  as  long  a  course  of  reading 
and  meditation  to  deprave  their  liearts  as  they 
ought  to  have  undertaken  to  preserve  tbem  from 
depravity.  Among  the  sophisms  which  they  have 
adopted,  that  which  they  have  derived  from  the  de- 
lay of  the  punishment  of  sinners,  hath  appeared  the 
most  tenable,  and  they  have  occupied  it  as  their  fort. 
Sophisms  of  this  kind  are  not  new,  they  have  been 
repeated  in  all  ages,  and  in  every  age  there  have 
been  such  as  Celius,  (this  is  the  name  of  an  ancient 
atheist)  of  whom  a  heathen  poet  saith,  Celius  says 
that  there  are  no  Gods,  and  that  heaven  is  an  uninhab- 
ited place  j  and  these  are  the  chief  reasons  that  he 
assigns ;  he  continued  happy,  and  he  had  the  pros- 
pect of  continuing  so,  while  he  denied  the  existence 
of  God. 

As  the  persons,  to  w horn  we  address  this  article, 
profess  to  reason,  let  us  reason  with  them.  And  ye, 
my  brethren,  endeavour  to  attend  a  few  moments  to 
our  arguments.  One  chief  cause  of  our  erroneous 
notions  of  the  perfections  of  God,  is  the  considering 
of  them  separately,  and  not  in  their  admirable  as- 
sortment and  beautiful  harmony.  When  we  medi- 
cate on  the  goodness  of  God,  we  consider  bis  good- 


^74  The  Long-suffenng  of 

ness  alone  and  not  in  harmony  with  his  justice. 
When  we  meditate  on  his  justice,  we  consider  it  in 
an  abstract  view,  and  without  any  relation  to  his 
goodness.  And  in  the  same  manner  we  consider 
his  wisdom,  his  power,  and  his  other  attributes. 

This  restriction  of  meditation  (I  think  I  may  ven- 
ture to  call  it  so)  is  a  source  of  sophistry.  If  we 
consider  Supreme  justice  in  this  manner,  it  will 
seem  as  if  it  ought  to  exterminate  every  sinner :  and 
on  the  contrary,  if  we  consider  Supreme  goodness 
in  this  manner,  it  will  seem  as  if  it  ouglit  to  spare 
every  sinner ;  to  succour  all  the  afflicted  ;  to  pre- 
vent every  degree  of  distress ;  and  to  gratify  every 
wish  of  every  creature  capable  of  wishing.  We 
might  observe  the  same  of  power,  and  of  wisdom, 
and  of  every  other  perfection  of  God.  But  what 
shocking  consequences  would  follow  such  views  of 
the  divine  attributes!  As  we  should  never  be  able 
to  prove  such  a  justice,  or  such  a  goodness  as  we 
have  imagined,  we  should  be  obliged  to  infer,  tiiat 
God  is  not  a  Being  supremely  good ;  that  he  is  not 
a  Being  supremely  just ;  and  the  same  may  be  said 
of  his  other  perfections. 

Persons  who  entertain  such  notions  not  only  sink 
the  Supreme  Being  below  the  dignity  of  his  own 
nature,  but  even  below  that  of  mankind.  Were  we 
to  allow  the  reasoning  of  these  people,  we  should 
increase  their  difficulties  by  removing  them,  for  tiie 
argument  would  end  in  downright  atheism.  Were 
we  to  allow  the  force  of  their  objections  I  s^y,  we 
should  increase  their  difficulties  and  instead  of  ob- 
taining a  solution  of  the  difficulty  which  attends  our 


God  with  Individuals.  375 

notions  of  a  divine  attribute,  we  should  obtain  a 
proof  that  there  is  no  God :  for,  could  we  prove 
that  there  is  a  Bein^  supremely  good,  in  their  ab- 
stract sense  of  goodness,  we  should  thereby  prove 
that  there  is  no  Being  supremely  just;  because  su- 
preme goodness,  considered  in  tl:eir  abstract  man- 
ner, destroys  supreme  justice.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  all  the  other  perfections  of  God,  one  per- 
fection of  the  divine  nature  would  destroy  another, 
and  to  prove  that  God  possessed  one  would  be  to 
prove  that  of  the  other  his  nature  was  quite  desti- 
tute. 

Now,  if  there  be  a  subject,  my  brethren,  in  which 
people  err  by  considering  the  perfections  of  God  in 
a  detached  and  abstract  manner,  it  is  this  of  which 
we  are  speaking ;  it  is  when  people  raise  objections 
against  the  attributes  of  God  from  his  forbearance 
with  sinners.  God  seems  to  act  contrary  to  some  of 
his  perfections  in  his  forbearance.  AYhy  ?  Because 
the  perfection,  to  which  his  conduct  seems  incongru- 
ous, is  considered  as  if  it  w^ere  alone,  and  not  as  if 
it  were  in  relation  to  another  perfection  :  because,  as 
I  have  already  said,  the  divine  attributes  are  consid- 
ered abstractly  and  not  in  their  beautiful  assortment 
and  admirable  hamiony. 

I  confine  myself  to  this  principle  to  refute  the  ob- 
jections w^hich  some,  who  are  improperly  called  phi- 
losophers, derive  from  the  delay  of  the  punishment 
of  sinners,  to  oppose  to  the  perfections  of  God.  I 
do  not,  however,  confine  myself  to  this  for  want  of 
other  solid  answers :  for  example,  I  might  prove  that 
the  notion,  which  they  form  of  those  perfections,  to 


376  The  Long-suffering  of 

which  the  delay  of  divine  vengeance  seems  repug- 
nant, is  a  false  notion. 

What  are  those  perfections  of  God  ?  They  are,  ye 
answer,  hmth,  which  is  interested  in  executing  the 
threatenings  that  are  denounced  against  sinners:  wis- 
dom,  which  is  interested  in  supplying  means  of  re- 
establishing order  :  and  particularly  justicey  which  is 
interested  in  the  punishing  of  the  guilty. 

I  reply,  your  idea  of  truth  is  opposite  to  truth  : 
3'oiu-  idea  of  wisdom  is  opposite  to  wisdom  :  your 
idea  of  justice  is  opposite  to  justice. 

Yes,  the  notion  that  ye  entertain  of  tj^uth,  is  op- 
posite to  truth,  and  ye  resemble  those  scoffers,  of 
whom  the  apostle  speaks,  who  said,  "  Where  is  the 
promise  of  his  coming  V  What  Jesus  Christ  had  said 
of  St.  John,  "  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,^ 
what  is  that  to  thee?"  had  occasioned  a  rumour 
concernhig  the  near  approach  of  the  dissolution  of 
tlie  w  orld :  but  there  was  no  appearance  of  the  dis~ 
solution  of  the  world  :  thence  the  scoffers,  of  Avhom 
St.  Peter  speaks,  concluded  that  God  had  not  fulfil- 
led his  promise,  and  on  this  false  supposition  they 
said,  '*  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ?"  Ap- 
ply this  reflection  to  yourselves.  The  delay  of  the 
punishment  of  sinners,  ye  say,  is  opposite  to  the 
truth  of  God  :  on  the  contrary,  God  hath  declared 
that  he  would  not  punish  every  sinner  as  soon  as  he 
had  committed  an  act  cf  sin.  "  The  sinner  doth  evil 
an  hundred  times,  and  God  prolongeth  his  days." 

The  delay  of  the  punishment  of  sinners,  ye  say, 
is  opposite  to  the  wisdom  of  God :  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  this  delay  which  provides  for  the  execution  of 


God  with  Individuals.  377 

that  wise  plan,  which  God  hath  made  for  man- 
kind, of  placing  them  for  sometime  in  a  state  of  pro- 
bation in  this  world,  and  of  re^^ulating  their  future 
reward  or  punishment  according  to  their  use  or  abuse 
of  such  a  dispensation. 

The  delay  of  the  punishment  of  sinners,  ye  say,  is 
repugnant  to  the  justice  of  God.  Quite  the  contrary. 
What  do  ye  call  justice  in  God  ?  What !  Such  an 
impetuous  emotion  as  that  which  animates  you  against 
those  who  affront  you,  and  whom  ye  consider  as  en- 
emies ?  An  implacable  madness,  which  enrageth  you 
to  such  a  degree  that  a  sight  of  all  the  miseries  into 
wdiich  ye  are  going  to  involve  them  is  not  able  to 
curb  ?  Is  this  what  ye  call  justice  ? 

But  I  suppress  all  these  reflections,  and  return  to 
my  principle,  (and  this  is  not  the  first  time  that  we 
have  been  obliged  to  proportion  the  length  of  a  dis- 
course, not  to  the  nature  of  the  subject,  but  to  the 
impatience  of  our  hearers.)  I  return  to  my  princi- 
ple ;  the  delay  of  the  punishment  of  sinners  will  not 
seem  incompatible  with  the  justice  of  God  unless  ye 
consider  that  perfection  detached  from  another  per- 
fection, by  which  God  in  the  most  eminent  manner 
displays  his  glory,  I  mean  his  mercy.  An  explica- 
tion of  the  last  clause  of  our  text,  "  the  sinner  doth 
evil  an  hundred  times,  and  God  prolongeth  his  days," 
will  place  the  matter  in  a  clear  light :  for  the  long- 
suffering  of  God  with  sinners  flows  from  his  mercy. 
St.  Peter  confirms  this  when  he  tells  us,  "  The  Lord 
is  not  slack  concerning  his  promise,  but  is  long-suf- 
ering  to   us-ward,  not  willing  that  any  should  per- 

ToL.  I.  48 


378  The  Long-suffering  of 

ish,  but  that  all  should  come   to    repentance,"    2 
Pet.  iii.  9. 

It  is  with  the  same  view  that  Jesus  Christ  calls 
the  whole  time,  during  which  God  delayed  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem,  the  time  of  the  visitation  of 
that  miserable  city,  Luke  xix.  44.  And  for  the 
same  reason  Si,  Paul  calls  the  whole  time,  which 
God  puts  between  the  commission  of  sin  and  tlie 
destruction  of  sinners,  riches  of  forbearance,  and 
long-suffering,  that  Itad  to  repentance,  Rom.  ii.  4. 
And  who  could  flatter  himself  with  the  hope  of  es- 
caping devouring  Jire,  and  everlasting  burnings,  Isa. 
xxxiii.  14.  were  God  to  execute  immediately  his  sen- 
tence against  evil  works,  and  to  make  punishment 
instantly  follow  the  practice  of  sin  ? 

What  would  have  become  of  David,  if  divine 
mercy  had  not  prolonged  his  days  after  he  had  fal- 
len into  the  crimes  of  adultery  and  murder ;  or  if 
justice  had  called  him  to  give  an  account  of  his  con- 
duct, while  his  heart,  burning  with  a  criminal  pas- 
sion, was  wishing  only  to  gratify  it ;  while  he  w  as 
sacrificing  the  honour  of  a  wife,  the  life  of  a  hus- 
band, along  with  his  own  body,  which  should  have 
been  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  the  criminal 
passion  that  inflamed  his  soul  ?  It  was  the  long-suf- 
fering, the  patience  of  God,  that  gave  him  time  to 
recover  himself,  to  get  rid  of  his  infatuation,  to  see 
the  horror  of  his  sin,  and  to  say  under  a  sense  of  it, 
"  Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  God,  according  to  thy 
loving  kindness :  according  unto  the  multitude  of 
thy  mercies  blot  out  my  transgressions.  Wash  me 
thoroughly  from  mine  iniquity,  and  cleanse  me  from 


God  with  Individuals,  379 

my  sin.  For  I  acknowledge  my  transgressions :  and 
my  sin  is  ever  before  me.  Against  thee,  thee  only 
have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight :  that 
thou  mightest  be  justified  when  thou  speakest,  and 
be  clear  when  thou  judgest,"  Ps.  li.  1,  2,  3,  4. 

What  would  have  become  of  Manasseh,  if  God 
bad  called  him  to  give  him  an  account  of  his  admin- 
istration while  he  was  making  the  house  of  God  the 
theatre  of  his  dissoluteness  and  idolatry  ;  while  he 
was  planting  groves,  rearing  up  altars  for  the  host 
of  heaven,  making  his  sons  pass  through  the  fire, 
doing  more  wickedly  than  the  Amorites,  making 
Judah  to  sin  with  his  dunghill  gods,  as  the  Holy 
Scriptme  calls  them  ?  It  was  the  long-suflering  of 
God  that  bore  with  him,  that  engaged  iiim  to  hum- 
ble himself,  to  pray  fervently  to  the  God  of  his  fa- 
thers, and  to  become  an  exemplary  convert,  after 
he  had  been  an  example  of  infidelity  and  impu- 
rity. 

What  would  have  become  of  St.  Peter,  if  God 
had  called  him  to  give  an  account  of  himself,  while, 
frightened  and  subverted  at  the  sight  of  the  judges 
and  executioners  of  his  Saviour,  he  was  pronounc- 
ing those  cowardly  words,  /  know  not  the  man  ?  It 
was  the  long-suffering  and  patience  of  God,  that 
gave  him  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  merciful 
looks  of  Jesus  Christ  immediately  after  his  denial 
of  him,  of  fleeing  from  a  place  fatal  to  his  inno- 
cence, of  going  out  to  weep  bitterly,  and  of  saying 
to  Jesus  Christ,  "  Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  love 
thee:  Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things,  thou  knowest 
that  I  love  thee,"  John  xxi.  16,  17. 


380  The  Long-suffering  of 

What  would  have  become  of  St.  Paul,  if  God  had 
required  an  account  of  his  administration,  while  he 
was  "  breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter 
against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,"  Acts  ix.  1.  while 
he  was  ambitious  of  stifling  the  new  born  church  in 
her  cradle,  while  he  was  soliciting  letters  from  the 
high  priest  lo  pervert  and  to  punish  the  disciples 
of  Christ  ?  It  was  the  long-suffering  of  God,  that 
gave  him  an  opportunity  of  saying,  "  Lord,  what 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  Acts  ix.  6.  It  was  the 
patience  of  God,  which  gave  him  an  opportunity  of 
making  that  honest  confession,  "  I  was  before  a  blas- 
phemer, and  a  persecutor,  and  injurious:  But  I  ob- 
tained mercy,"  1  Tim.  i.  13. 

IV.  But  why  should  we  go  out  of  this  assembly, 
(and  here  we  enter  into  the  last  article,  and  shall 
endeavour  to  prevent  your  abuse  of  the  patience  of 
God  in  the  dispositions  of  men,)  why  should  we  go 
out  of  lliis  assembly,  to  search  after  proofs  of  di- 
vine mercy  in  a  delay  of  punishment  ?  What  would 
have  become  of  you,  my  dear  hearers,  if  vengeance 
had  immediately  followed  sin ;  if  God  had  not  pro- 
longed the  days  of  sinners  ;  if  sentence  against  evil 
works  had  been  executed  speedily  ? 

What  would  have  become  of  some  of  you,  if  God 
had  required  of  you  an  account  of  your  conduct, 
while  ye  were  sacrificing  the  rights  of  widows  and 
orphans  to  the  honour  of  the  persons  of  the  mighty^ 
Lev.  xix.  15.  while  ye  were  practising  perjury  and 
accepting  bribes  ?  It  is  the  long-suffering  of  God 
ihd^i  prolongs  your  days,  that  ye  may  make  a  restitu- 
tion of  your  unrighteous  gain,  plead  for  the  orphan 


God  with  Individuals,  381 

and  the  widow,  and  attend  in  future  decisions  only 
to  the  nature  of  tlie  cause  before  you. 

What  would  have  become  of  some  of  you,  if  God 
had  called  you  to  give  an  account  of  your  conduct, 
while  the  fear  of  persecution,  or,  what  is  infinitely 
more  criminal  still,  while  the  love  of  ease,  prevail- 
ed over  you  to  renounce  a  religion  which  ye  re- 
spected in  your  hearts  while  ye  denied  with  your 
mouths  ?  It  is  the  patience  of  God  which  hath  af- 
forded you  time  to  learn  the  greatness  of  a  sin,  the 
guilt  of  which  a  w  hole  life  of  repentance  is  not  suf- 
ficient to  expiate :  it  is  the  patience  of  God  which 
hath  prolonged  your  days,  that  ye  might  confess 
that  Jesus  w  hom  ye  have  betrayed,  and  profess  that 
gospel  which  ye  have  denied. 

Let  us  not  multiply  particular  examples,  let  us 
comprise  this  whole  assembly  in  one  class.  There 
is  not  one  of  our  hearers,  no,  not  one,  who  is  in 
this  church  to-day,  there  is  not  one  who  hath  been 
engaged  in  the  devotional  exercises  of  this  day,  who 
would  not  have  been  in  hell  with  the  devil  and  his 
angels,  if  vengeance  had  immediately  followed  sin ; 
if  God  had  exercised  no  patience  toward  sinners  ; 
if  sentence  against  evil  works  liad  been  executed  speed- 
ily. It  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies  that  we  are  not  con- 
sumed!  Lam.  iii.  22.  The  delay  of  punishment  is 
a  demonstration  of  his  mercy;  it  doth  not  prove 
that  he  is  not  just,  but  it  doth  prove  that  he  is  good. 

I  could  wish,  my  brethren,  that  all  those  who 
ought  to  interest  themselves  in  this  article,  would 
render  it  needless  for  me  to  enter  into  particulars, 
by  recollecting  the  history  of  their  own  lives,  and 


382  The  Long-suffering  of 

by  remembering  the   circumstances  to  which  I  re- 
fer.     One   man   ought  to   say   to   himself;  In  my 
childhood,  an   upright  father,  a  pious  mother,  and 
several  worthy  tutors  did  all  that  lay  in  their  power 
to  form  me  virtuous.     In  my  youth,  a  tender  and 
generous  friend,  who    was  more  concerned  for  my 
happiness,  and   more   ambitious  of    my   excelling, 
than  I  myself,  availed  himself  of  all  the  power  of 
insinuation   that  nature  had  given  him  to  inclme 
my  heart  to  piety  and  to  the  fear  of  God,  and  to 
attach  me  to  religion  by  hands  of  love.     On  a  cer- 
tain occasion,  Proiddence  put  into  my  hands  a  re- 
ligious book,  the  reading  of  which  discovered  to 
me  the  turpitude  of  my  conduct.     At  another  time, 
one  of  those  clear,  affecting,  thundering  sermons, 
that  alarm  sleepy  souls,  forced  from  me  a  promise 
of  repentance  and  reformation.     One  day,   I  saw 
the   administration   of  the  Lord's    supper,    which, 
awaking  my  attention  to  the  grand  sacrifice  that  di- 
vine justice  required  for  the   sins  of  mankind,  af- 
fected  me  in  a  manner  so  powerful   and  moving, 
that  I  thought  myself  obliged  in  gratitude  to  dedi- 
cate my  whole  life  to   him,  who  in  the  tenderest 
compassion   had  given  himself  for  me.      Another 
time,  an   extremely  painful   illness  shewed  me  the 
absurdity  of  my  course  of  life  ;  filled  me  with  a 
keenness  of  remorse,  that  seemed  an  anticipation  of 
hell ;  put  me  on  beseeching  God  to  grant  me  a  few 
years  more  of  his  patience;  and  brought  me  to  a  so- 
lemn adjuration  that  I  would  employ  the  remaining 
part  of  my  life  in  repairing  the  past.     All  these  have 
iDeen  fruitless ;  all  these  means  have   been  useless ; 


God  7vith  Individuals.  383 

all  these  promises  have  been  false;  and  yet  I  may 
have  access  to  a  throne  of  grace.  What  love! 
What  mercy! 

This  long-suffering  of  God  with  impenitent  sin- 
ners will  be  one  of  the  most  terrible  subjects  that 
they  can  think  of  when  the  avenging  moment 
comes;  when  the  fatal  hour  arrives  in  which  the 
voice  of  divine  justice  shall  summon  a  miserable 
wretch  to  appear,  when  it  shall  bind  him  to  a 
death-bed,  and  suspend  him  over  the  abyss  of  hell. 

But  to  a  poor  sinner,  who  is  awaking  from  his 
sin,  who,  having  consumed  the  greatest  part  of  his 
life  in  sin,  would  repair  it  by  sacrificing  the  world 
and  all  its  glory,  were  such  a  sacrifice  in  his  power : 
to  a  poor  sinner,  who,  having  been  for  some  time 
afraid  of  an  exclusion  from  the  mercy  of  God,  re- 
volves these  distressing  thoughts  in  his  mind.  Per- 
haps the  days  of  my  visitation  may  be  at  an  end ; 
henceforth  perhaps  my  sorrows  may  be  superfluous, 
and  my  tears  inadmissible:  To  such  a  sinner,  what 
an  object,  what  a  comfortable  object,  is  the  treasure 
of  the  forbearance  and  long-suffering  of  God  that 
leadeth  to  repentance.  My  God,  saith  such  a  sinner, 
/  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of  all  thy  mercies  !  Gen. 
xxxii.  10.  My  God,  I  am  tempted  to  think  that  to 
doubt  of  my  interest  in  thy  favour  is  the  rendering 
of  a  proper  homage  to  thy  mercy,  and  my  unbelief 
would  arise  from  my  veneration  for  tliy  majesty ! 
But  let  me  not  think  so ;  I  will  not  doubt  of  thy 
mercy,  my  God,  since  thou  hast  condescended  to 
assure  me  of  it  in  such  a  tender  manner!  I  will  lose 
myself  in  that  ocean  of  love  v»hich  thou,  O  God,  in- 


384  The  Long-suffering  of 

finitely  good  !  still  discoverest  to  me.  I  will  persuade 
myself  that  thou  dost  not  despise  the  sacrifice  of  a 
broken  and  contrite  heart,  and  this  persuasion  I  will 
oppose  to  an  alarmed  conscience,  to  a  fear  of  hell 
that  anticipates  the  misery  of  the  state,  and  to  all 
those  formidable  executioners  of  condemned  men, 
whom  I  behold  ready  to  seize  their  prey ! 

My  brethren,  the  riches  of  the  goodness  and  for- 
bearance, and  long-suffering  of  God,  are  yet  open  to 
you :  they  are  open,  my  dear  brethren,  to  this 
church,  how^  ungrateful  soever  w^e  have  been  to  the 
goodness  of  God ;  how  much  insensibility  soever 
we  have  shewn  to  the  invitations  of  grace:  they  are 
open  to  the  greatest  sinners,  nor  is  there  one  of  my 
hearers  who  may  not  be  admitted  to  these  inex- 
haustible treasures  of  goodness  and  mercy. 

But  do  ye  still  despise  the  riches  of  the  long-suffer- 
ing of  God  ?  What !  because  a  space  to  repent,  (Rev. 
ii.  21.)  is  given,  will  ye  continue  in  impenitence? 
Ah !  were  Jesus  Christ  in  the  flesh,  were  he  walking 
in  your  streets,  were  he  now  in  this  pulpit  preach- 
ing to  you,  would  he  not  preach  to  you  all  bathed 
in  sorrows  and  tears  ?  He  would  w  eep  over  you  as 
he  once  wept  over  Jerusalem,  and  he  would  say  to 
this  province,  to  this  town,  to  this  church,  to  each 
person  in  this  assembly,  yea  to  that  wicked  hearer, 
who  affects  not  to  be  concerned  in  this  sermon,  O 
that  "thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this 
thy  day,  the  things  which  belong  unto  thy  peace!" 
Luke  xix.  42.  What  am  I  saying  ?  he  would  say 
thus !  He  doth  say  thus,  my  dear  brethren,  and  still 
interests  himself  in  your  salvation   in  the  tenderest 


God  with  Individuals.  385 

and  most  vehement  manner.  Sitting  at  the  right 
hand  of  his  Father,  he  holds  back  that  avenging  arm 
which  is  ready  to  fell  us  to  the  earth  at  a  stroke ;  in 
our  behalf  he  interposeth  his  sufferings  and  his 
death,  his  intercession  and  his  cross ;  and  from  the 
top  of  that  glory  to  which  he  is  elevated  he  looks 
down  and  saith  to  this  republic,  to  this  church,  to  all 
this  assembly,  and  to  every  sinner  in  it :  O  that 
"thou  hadst  known,  €ven  thou,  at  least  in  this  thy 
day,  the  things  which  belong  unto  thy  peace !" 

My  brethren,  the  patience  of  God,  which  yet 
endures,  will  not  always  endure.  The  year  which 
the  master  of  the  vineyard  grants,  at  the  intercession 
of  the  dresser,  to  try  whether  a  barren  fig-tree  can 
be  made  fruitful,  will  expire,  and  then  it  must  be  cut 
down,  Luke  xiii.  6.  Do  not  deceive  yourselves,  my 
brethren,  the  long-suffering  of  God  must  produce  in 
the  end  eitlier  your  conversion  or  your  destruction. 
O  may  it  prevent  your  destruction  by  producing 
your  conversion  !  The  Lord  grant  you  this  favour! 
To  him,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  be 
honour  and  glory  for  evei\    Amen. 


TOL,   I.  49 


SERMON  XII. 

God  the  only  Object  of  Fear, 


PART  I. 


Jeremiah  x.  7. 

Who  would  not  fear  thee,  O  King  of  nations  ?  For  to 
thee  doth  it  appertain. 

X  HE  prophet  aims,  in  the  words  of  the  text,  to  in- 
spiie  us  with  fear,  and  the  best  way  to  understand 
his  meaning  is  to  affix  distinct  ideas  to  the  term. 
To  fear  God  is  an  equivocal  phrase  in  all  languages ; 
it  is  generally  used  in  three  senses  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tuves. 

I.  Fear  sometimes  signifies  terror;  a  disposition, 
that  makes  the  soul  consider  itself  only  as  sinful, 
and  God  chiefly  as  a  being  who  hateth  and  avengeth 
sin.  There  are  various  degrees  of  this  fear,  and  it 
deserves  either  praise,  or  blame,  according  to  the 
different  degree  to  wliich  it  is  carried. 

A  man,  whose  heart  is  so  void  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  perfections  of  God,  that  he  cannot  rise  above 
the  little  idols  which  worldlings  adore ;  whose  no- 
tions are  so  gross,  that  he  cannot  adhere  to  the  pu- 
rity of  religion  for  purity's  sake ;  whose  taste  is  so 


388  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

vitiated  that  he  hath  no  relish  for  the  delightful  un- 
ion of  a  faithful  soul  with  its  God  ;  such  a  man  de- 
serves to  be  praised,  when  he  endeavoureth  to  re- 
strain his  sensuality  by  the  idea  of  an  avenging  God» 
The  apostles  urged  this  motive  with  success,  know- 
ing there/ore  the  terror  of  the  Lord  we  persuade  men, 
2  Cor.  V.  ]  1.  Of  some  have  compassion,  saith  St.  .lude 
to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  making  a  difference; 
and  others  sate  ivith  fear,  jmlling  them  out  of  the 
Jire,  ver.  22,  23.  Such  a  disposition  is,  without 
doubt,  very  imperfect,  and  were  a  man  to  expect 
salvation  in  this  way,  he  would  be  in  imminent  dan- 
ger of  feeling  those  miseries  of  which  he  is  afraid. 
No  casuists,  except  such  as  have  been  educated  in 
an  infernal  school,  will  venture  to  affirm,  that  to  fear 
God  in  this  sense,  without  loving  him,  is  sufficient 
for  salvation.  JNevertheless,  this  disposition  is  al- 
lowable in  the  beginning  of  a  work  of  conversion, 
it  is  never  altogether  useless  to  a  regenerate  man, 
and  it  is  of  sinofular  use  to  him  in  some  violent 
temptations,  with  which  the  enemy  of  his  salvation 
assaults  him.  When  a  tide  of  depravity  threatens, 
in  spite  of  yourselves  to  carry  you  away,  recollect 
some  of  tlie  titles  of  God ;  the  scripture  calls  him 
the  mighty,  and  the  terrible  God;  the  furious  Lord  ; 
a  consuming  fire,  Neh.  ix.  32.  Nah.  i.  2.  Heb.  xii. 
29.  Remember  the  terrors  that  your  own  conscien- 
ces felt,  when  they  first  awoke  from  the  inchant- 
ment  of  sin,  and  when  they  beheld,  for  the  first 
time,  vice  in  its  own  colours.  Meditate  on  that 
dreadful  abode,  in  which  criminals  suffer  everlast- 
ing pains  for  momentary  pleasures.     Tne  fear  of 


God  the  only  Object  oj  Fear.  389 

God^  taken  in  this  first  sense,  is  a  laudable  disposi- 
tion. 

But  it  ceaseth  to  be  laudable,  it  becomes  detesta- 
ble, when  it  goeth  so  far  as  to  deprive  a  sinner  of  a 
sight  of  all  the  gracious  remedies  which  God  hath 
reserved  for  sinners.  "  I  heard  thy  voice„  and  I 
was  afraid,  and  I  hid  myself,"  Gen.  iii.  10.  said  the 
first  man,  after  his  fall :  but  it  was  because  he  tvas 
naked,  it  was  because  he  had  lost  the  glory  of  his 
primitive  innocence,  and  must  be  obliged  to  pros- 
trate himself  before  his  God,  to  seek  from  his  infi- 
nite mercy  the  proper  remedies  for  his  maladies,  to 
pray  to  him,  in  whose  image  he  had  been  first  form- 
ed. Gen.  i.  26.  to  renerv  him  after  the  image  of  him  that 
created  him.  Col.  iii.  10.  and  to  ask  him  for  raiment, 
that  the  shame  of  his  nakedness  might  not  appear. 
Rev.  iii.  18.  Despair  should  not  dwell  in  the  church, 
hell  should  be  its  only  abode.  It  should  be  left  to 
the  devils  to  believe  and  tremble.  Jam.  ii.  19.  Time  is 
an  economy  of  hope,  and  only  those,  whom  the  day 
of  wrath  overwhelmeth  with  horrible  judgments, 
have  reason  to  cry  "  to  the  mountains  and  rocks. 
Fall  on  us,  and  hide  us  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb." 
Rev.  vi.  16.  Too  great  a  degree  o^  fear,  then,  in 
this  first  sense  of  fear,  is  a  detestable  disposition. 

Fear  is  no  less  odious,  when  it  giveth  us  tragical 
descriptions  of  the  riglits  of  God,  and  of  his  designs 
on  his  creatures  :  when  it  maketh  a  tyrant  of  him, 
whom  the  text  calleth  the  king  of  nations.  Rev.  xix. 
16.  of  him,  who  is  elsewhere  described  as  having  on 
his  thigh  the  stately  title  of  King  of  kings  ;  of  him, 
whose  dominion  is  described  as  constituting  the  fell- 


390  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

dty  of  his  subjects,  "  The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the 
earth  rejoice,"  Psa.  xcvii.  1.  Far  be  such  descrip- 
tions of  God  fiom  us!  They  represent  the  Deity  as 
a  merciless  usurer,  who  requireth  an  account  of  tal- 
ents that  we  have  not  received  ;  who  requireth  an- 
gelical know^ledge  of  a  human  intelligence,  or  phi- 
losophical penetration  of  an  uninslructed  peasant. 
Far  from  us  be  those  systems,  which  pretend  to 
prove,  that  God  will  judge  the  heathens  by  the  same 
laws  by  which  he  will  judge  the  Jews,  and  that  he 
will  judge  those  who  lived  under  the  law,  as  if  they 
had  lived  under  the  gospel !  Away  with  that  fear  of 
God,  Avhich  is  so  injurious  to  his  majesty,  and  so 
unw^orthy  of  that  throne,  w  hich  is  founded  on  equi- 
ty !  What  encouragement  could  I  have  to  endeavor 
to  know  what  God  hath  been  pleased  to  reveal  to 
mankind,  were  I  prepossessed  with  an  opinion,  that, 
after  1  had  implored,  with  all  the  powers  of  my 
soul,  the  help  of  God  to  guide  me  in  seeking  the 
truth  ;  after  I  had  laid  aside  the  prejudices  that  dis- 
guise it;  after  I  had  suspended,  as  far  as  I  could,  the 
passions  that  deprave  my  understanding  ;  even  af- 
ter I  had  determined  to  sacrifice  my  rest,  my  for- 
tune, my  dignity,  my  life,  to  follow  it;  I  might  fall 
into  capital  errors  which  would  plunge  me  into  ev- 
erlasting woe  ?  No,  no,  we  have  not  so  learned  Christ, 
Eph.  iv.  20.  None  but  a  refractory  servant  fears 
God  in  this  manner.  It  is  only  the  refractory  ser- 
vant, who,  to  exculpate  himself  for  neglecting  what 
was  in  his  power,  pretends  to  have  thought  that  God 
Vi^ould  require  more  than  was  in  his  power:  Lord, 
^aith  he,  "  I  knew  thee  that  thou  art  an  hard  man, 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear.  391 

reaping  where  thou  hast  not  sown,  and  gatherincr 
w^iere  thou  hast  not  strewed,"  Mat.  xxv.  24.  T knew  I 
And  where  didst  fhou  learn  this?  What  infernal 
body  of  divinity  hast  thou  studied  ?  What  demon 
was  thy  tutor?  Ah  !  Thou  art  "  a  wicked  servant," 
and,  at  the  same  time,  "  a  slothful  servant ;"  sloth- 
ful, ver.  26.  not  to  form  the  just  and  noble  resolu- 
tion of  improving  the  talent  that  I  committed  to 
thee :  wicked,  to  invent  such  an  odious  reason,  and 
to  represent  me  in  such  dismal  colours.  "  Thou 
oughtest  to  have  put  my  money  to  the  exchangers, 
and  then!  should  have  received  mine  own  with  usu- 
ry," ver.  27.  Thou  oughtest  to  have  improved  tlmt 
ray  of  light,  with  which  I  had  enlightened  thee,  and 
not  to  have  forged  an  ideal  God,  who  would  require 
that  with  which  he  had  not  intrusted  thee.  Thou 
oughtest  to  have  read  the  books  that  my  providence 
put  into  thy  hands,  and  not  to  have  imagined  that  I 
would  condemn  thee  for  not  having  read  those 
which  were  concealed  from  thee.  Thou  oughtest 
to  have  consulted  those  ministers,  whom  I  had  set 
in  my  church,  and  not  to  have  feared  that  I  wouW 
condemn  thee  for  not  having  sat  in  conference 
with  angels  and  seraphims,  with  whom  thou  hadst 
no  intercourse.  Thou  hadst  but  one  talent :  thou 
oughtest  to  have  improved  that  one  talent,  and  not 
to  have  neglected  it  lest  I  should  require  four  of 
thee.  "  Thou  wicked  servant !  Thou  slothful  ser- 
vant! Take  the  talent  from  him.  Give  it  unto  him 
who  hath  ten  talents,"  ver.  28. 

These  are  the  different  ideas,  which  we  ought  to 
form  of  that  disposition  of  mind  w  hich  is  called  fear 


392  God  Ihe  only  Ohjeci  of  Fear* 

in  this  first  sense.  To  fear  God  in  this  sense  is  to 
have  the  soul  filled  with  horror  at  the  sight  of  his 
judgments. 

2.  To  fear  God  is  a  phrase  still  more  equivocal, 
and  it  is  put  for  that  disposition  of  mind,  which  in- 
clines us  to  render  to  him  all  the  worship  that  he  i^e- 
quires,  to  submit  to  all  the  laws  that  he  imposeth,  to 
conceive  all  the  emotions  of  admiration,  devoted^ 
ness,  and  love,  which  tlie  eminence  of  his  perfections 
demand.  This  is  the  usual  meaning  of  the  phrase. 
By  this  Jonah  described  himself,  even  while  he  was 
acting  contrary  to  it,  "  I  am  an  Hebrew,  and  I  fear 
the  Lord  the  God  of  heaven,"  Jonah  i.  9.  In  this 
sense  the  phrase  is  to  be  understood  when  we  are  told 
that  "  the  fear  of  the  Lord  prolongeth  days,  is  a 
fountain  of  life,  and  preservetli  from  the  snares  of 
death,"  Prov.  x.  27.  xiv.  27.  And  it  is  to  be  taken 
in  the  same  sense  where  "  the  fear  of  the  Lord"  is 
said  to  be  "  the  beginning  of  wisdom,"  Psal.  cxL  10, 
The  fear  of  the  Lord  in  all  these  passages  includes 
all  the  duties  of  religion.  The  last  quoted  passage 
is  quite  mistaken,  when  the  fear  that  is  spoken  of  is 
taken  for  terror :  and  a  conclusion  is  drawn  from 
false  premises  when  it  is  inferred  from  this  passage 
that  fear  is  not  sufficient  for  salvation.  This  false 
reasoning,  however,  may  be  found  in  some  systems 
of  morality.  Terror,  say  they,  may,  indeed,  make 
a  part  of  a  course  of  wisdom,  but  it  is  only  the  be- 
ginning of  it,  as  it  is  said,  "  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  beginning  of  wisdom :"  but,  neither  does  fear 
signify  terror  in  tliis  passage,  nor  does  the  beginning 
mean  a  priority  of  time ;  it  means  the  principal  point. 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear.  393 

"  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom ;" 
that  is,  the  principal  point ;  that  without  whicli  no 
man  is  truly  wise,  that  is,  obedience  to  the  laws  of 
religion,  agreeably  to  the  saying  of  the  wise  man, 
"  Fear  God,  and  keep  his  commandments:  for  this 
is  the  whole  duty  of  man,"  Eccl.  xiv.  1 3. 

It  seems  needless  to  remark  what  idea  we  ought  to 
form  of  this  fear:  for,  it  is  plain,  the  more  a  soul  is 
penetrated  Avith  it,  the  nearer  it  approacheth  to  per- 
fection. It  seems  equally  unnecessary  to  prove  that 
terror  is  a  very  diflerent  disposition  from  this  fear  : 
for,  on  the  contrary,  the  most  effectual  mean  of  not 
fearing  God  in  the  first  sense  is  to  fear  him  in  the  last. 
"  Fear  not,"  said  Moses  formerly,  "  for  God  is  come 
to  prove  you,  that  his  fear  may  be  before  your  faces. 
Fear  not,  that  ye  may  fear ;"  this  is  only  a  seeming 
contradiction :  The  only  way  to  prevent  fear,  that 
is,  horror,  on  account  of  the  judgments  of  God,  is 
to  have  "  his  fear  before  your  eyes,"  that  is,  such  a 
love,  and  such  a  deference  for  him,  as  religion  re- 
quires. Agreeably  to  this,  it  is  elsewhere  said,  per- 
fect love,  (and  perfect  love,  in  this  passage,  is  nothing 
but  the  fear  of  which  I  am  speaking)  perfect  love  cast- 
eth  out  fear  ;  that  is,  a  horror  on  account  of  God's 
judgments :  for  the  more  love  we  have  for  him,  the 
stronger  assurance  shall  we  enjoy,  that  his  judgments 
have  nothing  :n  them  dangerous  to  us. 

3.  But,  beside  these  two  notions  of  fear,  there  is 
a  third,  which  is  more  nearly  allied  to  our  text,  a 
notion  that  is  neither  so  general  as  the  last,  nor  so 
panicular  as  the  first.  Fear,  in  this  thii'd  sense,  is  a 
disposition,  which  considers  hurr  who  is  the  object  of 

VOL.  I.  50 


394  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

it  as  alone  possessing  all  that  can  contribute  to  our 
happiness  or  misery.     Distinguish  here  a  particular 
from    a    general  happiness.      Every  being   around 
us,  by  a  wise  disposal  of  Providence,  hath  some  de- 
gree of  power  to  favour,  or  to  hinder  a  particular 
happiness.     Every  thing  that  can  increase,  or  abate, 
the  motion  of  our  bodies,  may  contribute  to  the  ad- 
vancement, or  to  th«  diminution,  of  the  particular 
happiness  of  our  bodies.     Every  thing  that  can  elu- 
cidate, or  obscure  the  ideas  of  our  minds,  may  con- 
tribute to  the  particular  happiness  or  misery  of  our 
minds.     Every  thing  that  can  procure  to  our  souls 
either  a  sensation  of  pleasure,  or  a  sensation  of  pain, 
may  contribute  to  the  particular  happiness,  or  mis- 
ery of  our  souls.     But  it  is  neither  a  particular  hap- 
piness, nor  a  particular   misery,  that   we  mean  to 
treat  of  now  :  We  mean  a   genaral  happiness.     It 
often  happens,  that,  all  th'ngs  being  considered,  a 
particular  happines  j,  ccns'dered  in  the  whole  of  our 
felicity  is  a  gene^  al  misery  :  and,  on  the  contrary, 
it  often  happens,  t'lat  all   iLings  being  considered, 
a  particular  misery,  in  the  v/hole  of  our  felicity  is  a 
general  happiness.     It  was  a  particular  misfortune 
in  the  life  of  man  to  be  forced  to  bear  the  ampu- 
tation of  a  mortified  arm :  but  weighing  the  whole 
felicity  of  the  life  of  the  man,  this  particular  misfor- 
tune became  a  good,  because  had  he  not  consented 
to  the  aiuputation  of  the   mortified  limb,  the  mor- 
tification   would  have   been   fatal    to   his  life,  and 
would  have   deprived  him  of  all  felicity  here.     It 
was  a  particular  calamity,   that  a  believer   should 
be  called  to  suffer  martyrdom:  but  in  the  whole 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear.  395 

felicity  of  llmt  believer,  martyrdom  was  a  happiness, 
yea,  an  inestimable  happiness :  by  suffering  tlie  pain 
of  a  few  moments  he  hath  escaped  those  eternal  tor- 
ments which  would  have  attended  his  apostacy ;  the 
bearing  of  a  light  affliction,  which  was  hut  for  a  mo- 
ment, hath  wrought  oid  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eter- 
nal weight  of  glory,  2  Cor.  iv.  17. 

Let  us  sum  up  these  reliections.  To  consider  a 
being  as  capable  of  renc'^ring  us  happy  or  miserable, 
in  the  general  sense  that  we  have  given  of  the  words 
happiness  and  misery,  is  to  fear  that  being,  in  the 
thii'd  sense  which  we  have  given  to  the  term /ear. 
This  is  the  sense  of  the  w^ord  fear,  in  the  text,  and 
in  many  other  passages  of  the  Floly  Scriptures. 
Thus  Isaiah  useth  it,  "  Say  ye  not  a  confederacy,  to 
all  them  to  w^iom  this  people  shall  say  a  confedera- 
cy :  neither  fear  ye  their  fear,  nor  be  afraid.  Sanc- 
tify the  Lord  of  hosts  himself,  and  let  him  be  your 
fear,  and  let  him  be  your  dread,"  ch.  viii.  12,  13. 
So  again,  "  Who  art  thou,  that  thou  shouldst  be 
afraid  of  a  man  that  shall  die,  and  of  the  son  of  man 
that  shall  be  made  as  grass?"  ch.  li.  12.  And  again 
in  these  well  known  words  of  our  Saviour,  "  fear 
not  them  which  kiil  tlie  body,  but  are  not  able  to 
kill  the  soul :  but  rather  fear  him  which  is  able  to  de- 
stroy both  soul  and  body  in  hell,"  Mat.  x.  28.  To 
kill  the  body  is  to  cause  a  particular  evil ;  and  to  fear 
them  which  kill  the  body  is  to  regard  the  death  of  the 
body  as  a  general  evil,  determining  the  whole  of  our 
felicity.  To  fear  him  vMch  is  able  to  destroy  the  soul, 
is  to  consider  the  loss  of  the  soul  as  the  general  evil, 
and  him  who  is  able  to  destroy  the  soul  as  alone  able 


396  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

to  determine  the  whole  of  our  felicity  or  misery. 
In  this  sense  we  understand  the  text,  and  this  sense 
seems  most  agreeable  to  the  scope  of  the  place. 

The  prophet  was  endeavoming  to  abase  false  gods 
in  the  eyes  of  his  countrymen,  while  the  true  God 
was  suffering  their  Avorshippers  to  carry  his  people 
into  captivity.  He  was  aiming  to  excite  the  Jews  to 
worship  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  to  de- 
spise idols  even  amidst  the  trophies  and  the  triumphs 
of  idolaters.  He  was  trying  to  convince  them  fully 
that  idols  could  procure  neither  happiness  nor  mis- 
ery to  mankind ;  and  tliat,  if  thek  worshippers  should 
inflict  any  punishments  on  the  captives,  they  would 
be  only  particular  evils  permitted  by  the  provi- 
dence of  God :  "  Be  not  dismayed  at  the  signs  of 
heaven  because  the  heathen  are  dismayed  at  them. 
One  cutteth  a  tree  out  of  the  forest  with  the  ax  /o 
make  idols  ;  another  decks  them  with  silver  and  with 
sold,  and  fastens  them  with  nails  and  with  hammers 
that  they  move  not.  They  are  upright  as  the  palm- 
tree,  but  speak  not.  They  must  needs  be  borne, 
because  they  cannot  go.  Be  not  afraid  of  them,  for 
they  cannot  do  evil,  neither  also  is  it  in  them  to  do 
good,"  ver.  2,  &c.  Remark  here  the  double  mo- 
tive of  not  fearing  them  :  on  the  one  hand,  they  can- 
not do  evil ;  on  the  other,  neither  is  it  in  them  to  do 
good.  This  justifies  the  idea  that  we  give  you  of 
fear,  by  representing  it  as  tliat  disposition,  which 
considers  its  object  as  having  our  happiness  and  our 
misery  in  its  power.  Instead  of  fearing  that  they 
should  destroy  you,  announce  ye  their  destruction, 
and  say  unto  them,  in  the  language  of  the  Babyloni- 


God  the  only  Ohject  of  Fear.  397 

ans  who  worship  them,^  "the  gods  that  have  not 
made  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  even  they  shall 
perish  from  the  earth,  and  from  under  tlie  heavens," 
ver.  11.  Having  thus  shewn  that  heath.en  gods 
could  not  be  the  object  of  that  fear,  which  consider- 
eth  a  being  as  able  to  procure  happiness  and  mise- 
ry; the  prophet  represents  the  God  of  Israel  as 
alone  worthy  of  such  an  homage,  "  He  hath  made 
the  earth  by  his  power,  lie  hath  established  the 
world  by  his  wisdom,  and  hath  stretched  out  the 
heavens  by  his  discretion.  When  he  uttereth  his 
voice  there  is  a  multitude  of  waters  in  the  heavens, 
and  he  causeth  the  vapours  to  ascend  from  the  ends 
of  the  earth :  he  maketh  lightnings  with  rain,  and 
bringeth  forth  the  wind  out  of  his  treasures.  Mol- 
ten images  are  falsehood  and  vanity.  The  portion 
of  Jacob  is  not  like  them  :  for  he  is  the  former  of 
all  things,  and  Israel  is  the  rod  of  his  inheritance ; 
the  Lord  of  hosts  is  his  name,"  ver.  12,  <fcc.  The 
prophet,  his  own  mind  being  filled  with  these  noble 
ideas,  supposes  that  every  other  mind  is  filled  with 
them  too;  and  in  an  ecstacy  exclaims,  "  Who  would 
not  fear  thee,  O  King  of  nations  ?  for  to  thee  doth 
it  appertain !" 

Fear,  then,  taken  in  this  third  sense,  is  an  homage 
that  cannot  be  paid  to  a  creature  without  falling  in- 
to idolatry.  To  regard  a  being,  as  capable  of  de- 
termining the  happiness  or  misery  of  an  immortal 
soul,  is  to  pay  the  honours  of  adoration  to  him.  As* 
it  can  be  said  of  none  but  God,  it  is  my  happiness  to 
draw  near  to  him :  so  of  him  alone  can  it  be  truly 

*  These  words  are  in  the  Chaldean  language  in  the  original. 


398  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

said,  it  is  my  misery  to  depart  from  him,  Psal.  Ixxiii. 
28.  Moreover,  this  homage  belongeth  to  him  in  a 
complete  and  eminent  manner.  He  possesseth  all 
without  restriction  that  can  contribute  to  our  felici- 
ty, or  to  our  misery.  Three  ideas,  under  which  we 
are  going  to  consider  God,  will  prove  what  we  have 
affirmed. 

I.  God  is  a  being,  whose  will  is  self-efficient. 

II.  God  is  the  only  being,  who  can  act  immedi- 
ately on  spiritual  souls. 

III.  God  is  the  only  being,  who  can  make  all  crea- 
tures concur  with  his  designs.  From  these  three 
notions  of  God  follows  this  consequence,  Who 
would  not  fear  thee,  O  King  of  nations  ? 

I.  God  is  a  being,  whose  will  is  self-efficient.  We 
call  that  will  self-efficient,  which  infallibly  produ- 
ceth  its  effect.  By  this  efficiency  of  will  we  distin- 
guish God  from  every  other  being,  either  real,  or 
possible.  No  one  but  God  hath  a  self-efficient  will. 
There  is  no  one  but  God  of  w  hom  the  argument  from 
the  will  to  the  act  is  demonstrative.  Of  none  but 
God  can  we  reason  in  this  manner :  he  willeth,  there- 
fore he  doth.  Every  intelligent  being  hath  some 
degree  of  efficiency  in  his  will:  my  will  hath  an 
efficiency  on  my  arm;  I  will  to  move  my  arm, 
my  arm  instantly  moves.  But  there  is  as  great 
a  difference  between  the  efficiency  of  the  will  of  a 
creature,  and  the  efficiency  of  the  will  of  the  Crea- 
tor, as  there  is  between  a  finite  and  an  infinite  be- 
ing. The  will  of  a  created  intelligence,  properly 
speaking,  is  not  self-efficient,  for  it  hath  only  a  bor- 
rowed efficiency.     When  he,  from  >vhom  it  is  deri- 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear.  399 

ved,  restrains  it,  this  created  intelligence  will  have 
only  a  vain,  weak,  inefficient  will.      I  have  to-day  a 
will  efficient  to  move  my  arm :    but  if  that  Being 
from  whom  I  derive  this  will,  should  contract,  or  re- 
lax, the  fibres  of  this  arm,  my  will  to  move  it  Avould 
become  vain,  weak,  and  inefficient.     I  have  a  will 
efficient  on  the  whole  mass  of  this  body,  to  which  it 
hath  pleased  the  Creator  to  unite  my  immortal  soul : 
but  were  God  to  dissolve  the  bond,  by  which  he  hath 
united  these  two  parts  of  me  together,  all  that  I  might 
then  will  in  regard  to  this  body  would  be  vain,  weak, 
and  destitute  of  any  effect.      When  the  intelligence, 
who  united  my  soul  to  my  body,  shall  have  once 
pronounced  the  word  return,  Psal.  xc.  3.  that  poiiion 
of  matter  to  which  my  soul  was  united  will  be  as  free 
from  the  power  of  my  will  as  the  matter  that  consti- 
tTites  the  body  of  the  sun,  or  as  that  which  constitutes 
bodies,  to  which  neither  my  senses,  nor  my  imagina- 
tion, can  attain.     All  this  comes  to  pass,  because  the 
efficiency  of  a  creature  is  a  boiTowed  efficiency, 
whereas  that  of  the  Creator  is  self-efficient  and  unde- 
rived. 

Farther,  the  efficiency  of  a  creature's  will  is  finite. 
My  will  is  efficient  in  regard  to  the  portion  of  mat- 
ter to  which  I  am  united:  but  how  contracted  is 
my  empire !  how  limited  is  my  sovereignty  !  It  ex- 
tends no  farther  than  the  mass  of  my  body  extends ; 
and  the  mass  of  my  body  is  only  a  few  inches  broad, 
and  a  few  cubits  high.  What  if  those  mortals,  who 
are  called  kings,  monarchs,  emperors  could  by  for- 
eign aid  extend  the  efficiency  of  theii'  wills  to  the 
most  distant  places ;  what  if  they  were  able  to  ex- 


400  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

tend  it  to  the  extremities  of  this  planet,  which  we 
inhabit ;  how  little  way,  after  all,  is  it  to  the  extrem- 
ities of  this  planet  ?  What  if,  by  the  power  of  sul- 
phur and  saltpetre,  these  men  extend  the  efficiency 
of  their  will  to  a  little  height  in  the  air ;  how  low, 
after  all,  is  that  height  ?  Were  a  sovereign  to  unite 
every  degree  of  power,  that  he  could  procure,  to  ex- 
tend his  efficiency  to  the  nearest  planet,  all  his  efforts 
would  be  useless.  The  efficiency  of  a  creature's  will 
is  finite,  as  well  as  borrowed  :  that  of  the  Creator  is 
independent  and  universal ;  it  extends  to  the  most  re- 
mote beings,  as  well  as  to  those  that  surround  us,  it 
extends  alike  to  all  actual  and  to  all  possible  beings. 
My  brethren,  are  ye  stricken  with  this  idea?  Do  ye 
perceive  its  relation  to  our  subject  ?  Who  would  not 
fear  thee,  O  king  of  nations  1 

Our  low  and  groveling  minds,  low  and  groveling 
as  they  are,  have  yet  some  notion  of  the  grand  and 
the  marvellous ;  and  nothing  can  impede,  nothing 
can  limit,  nothing  can  equal  our  notion  of  it:  when 
we  give  it  scope  it  presently  gets  beyond  every 
thing  that  we  see,  and  every  thing  that  exists.  Re- 
ality is  not  sufficient,  fancy  must  be  indulged  ;  real 
existences  are  too  indigent,  possible  beings  must  be 
imagined ;  and  we  presently  quit  the  real  to  range 
through  the  ideal  world.  Hence  come  poetical  fic- 
tions, and  fabulous  narrations;  and  hence  marvel- 
lous adventures,  and  romantic  enchantments.  A 
man  is  assuredly,  an  object  of  great  pity,  when  he 
pleaseth  himself  with  such  fantastic  notions.  But, 
the  principle  that  occasioned  these  fictions,  ought  to 
render  the  mind  of  man  respectable  :  it  is  the  very 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear.  401 

principle  which  we  have  mentioned.  It  is  because 
the  idea,  that  the  mind  of  man  hath  of  the  grand  and 
marvelJous,  finds  nothing  to  impede,  nothing  to  lim- 
it, notliing  to  equal  it.  The  most  able  architect 
cannot  fully  gratify  this  idea,  although  he  employs 
his  genius,  his  materials,  and  his  artists,  to  erect  a 
superb  and  regular  edifice  in  a  few  years:  All  this  is 
far  below  the  notion  which  we  have  of  the  grand 
and  tha  marvellous.  Our  mind  imagines  an  inch. int- 
er, who,  uniting  in  an  instant  all  the  secrets  of  art, 
and  all  the  wonders  of  nature,  by  a  single  word  of 
his  mouth,  or  by  a  single  act  of  his  will,  produceth 
a  house,  a  palace,  or  a  city.  The  most  able  me- 
chanic cannot  fully  gratify  this  idea,  although  with 
a  marvellous  industry  he  build  a  vessel,  which  re- 
sisting winds  and  waves,  passeth  from  the  east  to  the 
west,  and  disco vereth  new  worlds,  which  nature 
seemed  to  have  forbidden  us  to  approach,  by  the  im- 
mense spaces  that  it  hath  placed  between  us.  Our 
mmd  fancies  an  inchantment,  which  giving  to  a  bo- 
dy naturally  ponderous  the  levity  of  air,  the  activi- 
ty of  fire,  the  agility  of  flame;  or  of  ethereal  matter, 
passeth  the  most  immeasurable  spaces  with  a  rapidi- 
ty SNV  ifter  than  that  of  lightning.  It  is  God,  it  is  God 
alone,  my  brethren,  who  is  the  original  of  these 
ideas.  God  only  possesseth  that  which  gratifies  and 
absorbs  our  idea  of  the  grand  and  the  marvellous. 
The  extravagance  of  fable  does  not  lie  in  the  imagin- 
ing of  tliese  things;  but  in  the  misapplication  of 
them.  Must  an  edifice  be  formed  by  a  single  act 
of  the  will  ?  In  God  we  find  the  reality  of  this  idea. 
He  forms  not  only  a  palace,  a  city,  or  a  kingdom, 

VOL.   I.  51 


402  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear, 

but  a  whole  world  by  a  single  act  of  bis  will ;  be- 
cause his  will  is  always  efficient,  and  always  produ- 
ceth  its  effect.  God  said^  let  there  he  light,  and  there 
was  light,  Gen.  i.  3.  He  spake  and  it  was  done :  he 
commanded  and  it  stood  fast,  Psal.  xxxiii.  9.  Must 
the  immense  distances  of  the  world  be  passed  in  an 
instant  ?  In  God  we  find  the  reality  of  this  idea. 
What  am  I  saying  ?  we  find  more  than  this  in  God. 
He  doth  not  pass  through  the  spaces  that  separate 
the  heavens  from  the  earth,  he  fills  them  with  the 
immensity  of  his  essence.  "  Will  God  indeed  dwell 
on  the  earth  ?  Behold,  the  heaven,  and  heaven  of 
beavens  cannot  contain  thee !"  1  Kings  viii.  27. 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  The  heaven  is  my  throne, 
and  the  earth  is  my  footstool :  where  is  the  house 
that  ye  build  unto  me  ?  And  where  is  the  place  of 
my  rest  ?  For  all  those  things  hath  mine  hand  made, 
saith  the  Lord,"  Isa.  Ixvi.  1,  2. 

Were  it  necessary  to  prove  that  this  idea  is  not  a 
freak  of  our  fancy,  but  that  it  ariseth  from  an  ori- 
ginal which  really  exists :  I  would  divide,  the  bet- 
ter to  prove  my  proposition,  my  opponents  into  two 
classes.  The  first  should  consist  of  those  Avho  al- 
ready admit  the  existence  of  a  perfect  Being :  To 
them  I  could  easily  prove  that  efficiency  of  will  is 
a  perfection,  and  that  we  cannot  conceive  a  Being 
perfect,  who  doth  not  possess  this  perfection.  It  is 
essential  to  the  perfection  of  a  Being,  that  we  should 
be  able  to  say  of  him,  Who  hath  resisted  his  will  I 
Rom.  ix.  19.  Could  any  other  being  resist  his  will, 
that  being  a\  ould  be  free  from  his  dominion  ;  and 
w^ould  subsist,  not  only  independently  on  him,  but 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear,  403 

even  in  spite  of  him:  and  then  we  could  conceive  a 
being;  moie  perfect  than  he,  that  is,  a  being  from 
whose  dominion  nothing  could  free  itself. 

In  the  second  class  I  would  place  those  who  deny 
the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being  ;  and  to  them  I 
would  prove  that  the  existence  of  beings,  who  have 
a  derived  efficiency  of  will,  proves  the  existence  of 
a  Being  whose  will  is  self-efficient.  Whence  have 
finite  beings  derived  that  limited  efficiency,  which 
they  possess,  if  not  from  a  self-efficient  Being,  who 
hath  distributed  portions  of  efficiency  among  sub- 
ordinate beings? 

But  it  is  less  needful  to  prove  that  there  is  a  Be- 
ing who  hatli  suc{]  a  perfection ;  tlsan  it  is  to  prove, 
that  he  who  possesseth  it  merits,  and  alone  merits, 
such  a  fear  as  .^e  have  described:  that  he  deserves, 
and  that  he  alone  deserves  to  be  considered  as  hav- 
ing our  felicity,  and  our  misery,  in  his  power.  Who 
would  not  Jear  thee,  O  king  of  nations  1  to  thee  doth 
it  not  appertain?  And  who  would  not  consider  thee 
as  the  only  object  of  this  fear  ?  To  whom  beside  doth 
it  appertain  ?  The  efficiency  of  a  creature's  will  pro- 
ceeds from  thee,  and  as  it  proceeds  from  thee  alone, 
by  ttiee  alone  does  it  subsist :  one  act  of  thy  vv  ill 
gave  it  existence,  and  one  act  of  thy  will  can  take 
that  existence  away !  The  most  formidable  creatures 
are  only  terrible  through  the  exercise  of  a  small 
portion  of  efficiency  derived  from  thee  ;  thou  art 
the  source,  the  soul,  of  all !  Pronounce  the  sentence 
of  my  misery,  and  I  shall  be  miserable :  pronounce 
that  of  my  felicity,  and  I  shall  be  happy:  nor  shall 
any  thing  be  able  to  disconcert  a  happiness  that  is 
maintained  by  an  efficient  will,  which  is  superior  to 


404  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear, 

all  opposition  :  before  which  all  is  nothing,  or  ra- 
ther, which  is  itself  all  in  all,  because  its  efficiency 
communicates  efficiency  to  all !  Who  would  not  fear 
thee,  O  king  of  nations  ?  Doth  not  fear  appertain  to 
thee  alone  ? 

Perhaps  the  proving  of  a  self-efficient  will  may 
be  more  than  is  necessary  to  the  exliibiting  of  an  ob- 
ject of  human  fear.  Must  such  a  grand  spring  move 
to  destroy  such  a  contemptible  creature  as  man  ? 
He  is  only  a  vapour,  a  particle  of  air  is  sufficient 
to  dissipate  it :  he  is  only  a  flower,  a  blast  of  wind 
is  sufficient  to  make  it  fade.  This  is  undeniable  in 
regard  to  the  material  and  visible  man,  in  which  we 
too  often  place  all  our  glory.  It  is  not  only,  then, 
to  the  infinite  God,  it  is  not  only  to  him  whose  will 
is  self-efficient,  that  man  owes  the  homage  of  fear : 
it  may  be  said  that  he  owes  it,  in  a  sense,  to  all 
those  creatui^es,  to  which  Providence  hath  given  a 
presidency  over  his  happiness  or  his  misery.  He 
ought  not  only  to  say,  "  Who  would  not  fear  thee, 
O  king  of  nations  ?  for  to  thee  doth  it  appertain  !" 
But  he  ought  also  to  say,  Who  would  not  fear  thee, 
O  particle  of  air  ?  Who  w^ould  not  fear  thee,  O 
blast  of  wind  ?  Who  would  not  fear  thee,  O  crush- 
ing of  a  moth?  Job  iv.  15.  Because  there  needs 
only  a  particle  of  air,  there  needs  only  a  puff  of 
wind,  there  needs  only  the  crushing  of  a  moth,  to 
subvert  his  happiness,  and  to  destroy  his  life.  But 
ye  would  entertain  very  different  notions  of  human 
happiness  and  misery,  were  ye  to  consider  man  in  a 
nobler  light ;  and  to  attend  to  our  second  notion  of 
God,  as  an  object  of  fear. 


SERMON  XII. 

God  the  only  Object  of  Fear, 
PART  II. 


Jeremiah  x.  7. 

Who  would  not  fear  thee,  O  King  of  nations  1  For 
to  thee  doth  it  appertain, 

ItOD  is  the  only  being  who  hath  a  supreme  domin- 
ion over  the  operations  of  a  spiritual  and  immortal 
soul.  The  discussion  of  this  article  would  lead  us 
into  observations  too  abstract  for  this  place ;  and 
therefore  we  make  it  a  law  to  abridge  our  reflections. 
We  must  beg  leave  to  remark,  however,  that  we 
ought  to  think  so  highly  of  the  nature  of  man  as  to 
admit  this  principle  :  God  alone  is  able  to  exercise 
an  absolute  dominion  over  a  spu'itual  and  immortal 
soul.  From  this  principle  we  conclude,  that  God 
alone  hath  the  happiness  and  misery  of  man  in  his 
power.  God  alone  merits  the  supreme  homage  of 
fear.  God  alone  not  only  in  opposition  to  all  the 
imaginary  gods  of  paganism,  but  also  in  opposition 
to  every  being  that  really  exists,  is  worthy  of  this 
part  of  the  adoration  of  a  spiritual  and  immortal 
creature.  "  Who  would  not  fear  thee,  O  King  of 
nations?" 


406  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

Weigh  the  emphatical  words  which  we  just  now" 
quoted,  "  AVho  art  thou,  that  thou  shouldst  be  afraid 
of  a  man  that  shall  die  ?"  Who  art  thou,  immaterial 
spirit^  that  thou  shouldst  be  afraid  of  a  man  ?  Who 
an  thou,  immortal  spirit^  that  thou  shouldst  be  afraid 
of  a  man  that  shall  die  ? 

Who  art  thou,  immaterial  spirit,  that  thou  shouldst 
be  afraid  of  a  man  ?  Man  hath  no  immediate  power 
over  a  spirit ;  he  can  affect  it  only  by  means  of  body. 
It  is  only  by  the  body  that  a  tyrant  can  cause  a  little 
anguish  in  the  soul.  It  is  only  by  the  body  as  a 
mean  that  he  can  flatter  some  of  the  propensities  of 
the  soul,  and  propose  himself  to  it  as  an  object  of  its 
hope  and  fear.  But,  beside  that  this  power  is  infi- 
nitely small  while  the  soul  is  subject  to  it;  beside 
that  the  soul  is  capable  of  a  thousand  pleasures  and  a 
thousand  pams,  during  its  union  to  the  body,  which 
man  cannot  excite ;  beside  these  advantages,  it  is  be- 
yond a  doubt,  that  this  power  of  a  tyrant  can  en- 
dure no  longer  than  the  union  of  the  soul  to  the  body 
doth,  by  the  mean  of  which  the  tyrant  affects  it.  If 
a  tyrant  exercise  his  power  to  a  certain  degree,  he 
loscth  it.  When  he  has  carried  to  a  certain  degree 
that  violent  motion  which  he  produceth  in  the  body, 
in  order  to  afflict  the  soul,  which  is  united  to  it,  he 
breaks  the  bond  that  unites  the  soul  to  the  body,  and 
frees  his  captive  by  overloading  him  with  chains. 
Tlie  union  being  dissolved  the  soul  is  free ;  it  no 
longer  depends  on  the  tyrant,  because  he  communi- 
cates with  it  only  by  means  of  body.  After  the  de- 
if«truction  of  the  organs  of  the  body,  the  soul  is  su- 
perior lo  every  effort  of  a  despof  s  rage.     Death  re- 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear.  407 

moves  the  soul  beyond  the  reach  of  the  most  poAver- 
fiil  monarch.  After  death  the  soul  becomes  invisi- 
ble, and  a  tyrant's  eye  searcheth  for  it  in  vain :  it 
ceaseth  to  be  tangible,  his  chains  and  his  fetters  can 
hold  it  no  more  :  it  is  no  more  divisible,  his  gibbets 
and  his  racks,  his  pincers  and  his  wheels  can  rend  it 
no  more  :  none  of  his  fires  can  burn  it,  for  it  is  not 
combustible ;  nor  can  any  of  his  dungeons  confine  it, 
for  it  is  immaterial. 

Would  to  God,  my  brethren,  that  we  were  well 
acquainted  with  our  real  giandeur,  and,  perceiving 
our  own  excellence,  were  above  trembling  at  those 
contemptible  worms  of  the  earth,  who  fancy  that 
they  know  how  to  terrify  us,  only  because  they  have 
acquired  the  audacity  of  addressing  us  with  insolence 
and  pride.  There  is  no  extravagance,  there  is  not 
even  a  shadow  of  extravagance,  in  what  we  have  ad- 
vanced on  the  giandeur  of  an  immaterial  spirit.  We 
have  not  said  enough.  It  is  not  enough  to  say  that 
a  soul  can  neither  be  disordered  by  chains,  nor  racks, 
nor  gibbets,  nor  pincers,  nor  fires ;  it  defies  the  uni- 
ted power  of  universal  nature.  Yea,  were  all  the 
w^aters  that  hang  in  the  clouds,  and  all  that  roll  in  the 
sea,  were  every  drop  collected  into  one  prodigious 
deluge  to  overwhelm  it,  it  would  not  be  drowned. 
Were  mountains  the  most  huge,  were  masses  the 
most  enormous,  were  all  matter  to  compose,  if  I 
may  speak  so,  one  vast  ponderous  weight  to  fall  on 
and  to  crush  it,  it  would  not  be  bruised,  yea,  it  would 
not  be  moved.  Were  all  the  cedars  of  Lebanon, 
with  all  the  brimstone  of  Asphaltites,  and  with  eve- 
ry other  infianiiiiable  matter,  kindled  in  one  blaze  to 


408  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

consume  it,  it  would  not  be  burnt.  Yea,  when  "  the 
heavens  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  when  the  con- 
stellations of  heaven  fall,  when  the  elements  melt 
with  fervent  heat,  when  the  earth,  and  all  the  works 
that  are  therein,  are  burnt  up,"  2  Pet.  iii.  10.  when 
all  these  things  are  dissolved,  thou  human  soul !  shalt 
surmount  all  these  vicissitudes  and  rise  above  all  their 
ruins!  Who  art  thou?  Immaterial  spirit!  Who  art 
thou  to  he  afraid  of  a  man  1 

But  if  the  soul,  considered  in  its  nature ;  if  the 
soul  as  a  spiritual  being,  be  superior  to  human  tyran- 
ny ;  what  homage,  on  this  very  account,  what  sub- 
mission and  abasement,  or  to  confine  ourselves  to  the 
text,  what  fear  ought  we  not  to  exercise  toward  the 
Supreme  Being  ?  "  Who  would  not  fear  thee,  O  King 
of  nations  ?"  God  alone  hath  the  power  of  destroy- 
ing an  immaterial  soul ;  God  alone  hath  the  power  of 
preserving  it.  God  is  the  only  father  of  spirits. 
"  Fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body :  but  fear  him 
which  is  able  to  destroy  the  soul.  Yea,  I  say  unto 
you,  fear  him,"  Heb.  xii.  9.  God  alone  can  act  im- 
mediately on  a  spiritual  creature.  He  needs  neither 
the  fragrance  of  flowers,  nor  the  savour  of  foods,  nor 
any  of  the  mediums  of  matter,  to  communicate  agree- 
able sensations  to  the  soul.  He  needs  neither  the  ac- 
tion of  fire,  the  rigour  of  racks,  nor  the  galling  of 
chains,  to  produce  sensations  of  pain.  He  acts  im- 
mediately on  the  soul.  It  is  he,  human  soul !  It  is 
he,  who,  by  leaving  ihee  to  revolve  in  the  dark  void 
of  thine  unenlightened  mind,  can  deliver  thee  up  to 
all  the  torments  that  usually  follow  ignorance,  uncer- 
tainty, and  doubt.    But  the  same  God  can  expand 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear.  409 

ihine  intelligence  just  when  he  pleaseth,  and  enable 
it  to  lay  down  principles,  to  infer  consequences,  to 
establish  conclusions.  It  is  he,  who  can  impaii  new 
ideas  to  thee,  teach  thee  to  combine  those  which  tliou 
hast  already  acquired,  enable  thee  to  multiply  num- 
bers, shew^  thee  how^  to  conceive  the  infinitely  various 
arrangements  of  matter,  acquaint  thee  with  the  es- 
sence of  thy  thought,  its  different  modifications  and 
its  endless  operations.  It  is  he,  who  can  giant  thee 
new^  revelations,  develope  those  which  he  hath  alrea- 
dy given  thee,  but  which  have  hitherto  lain  in  obscu- 
rity ;  he  can  inform  thee  of  his  pui-poses,  his  coun- 
sels and  decrees,  and  lay  before  thee,  if  I  may  ven- 
ture to  say  so,  the  whole  history  of  time  and  eterni- 
ty :  For  nothing  either  hath  subsisted  in  time,  or  will 
subsist  in  eternity,  but  what  was  preconceived  in  the 
counsels  of  his  infinite  intelligence.  It  is  he,  who 
alone,  and  for  ever,  can  excite  infinite  sensations  of 
pleasure  or  pain  within  thee.  It  is  he,  who  can  ap- 
prehend the  soul  of  a  tyrant,  amidst  the  most  gay  and 
festive  objects,  among  the  most  servile  flatteries  of  a 
court,  and,  in  spite  of  a  concourse  of  pleasures,  pro- 
duce such  horrors  and  fears,  and  exquisite  tonuents,  as 
shall  change  even  a  Belshazzar's  "  countenance,  trou- 
ble his  thoughts,  loosen  the  joints  of  his  loins,  and 
smite  his  knees  one  against  another,"  Dan.  v.  6.  And 
it  is  he  also,  w ho  is  able  to  diveit  a  sensation  of  pain, 
amidst  the  greatest  torments,  yea,  to  absorb  a  strong 
sensation  of  pain  in  a  stronger  sensation  of  pleasure. 
He  can  make  a  madyr  triumph,  all  involved  in  fire 
and  flame,  by  shedding  abroad  effusions  of  love  in 

VOL.   T.  52 


4  iO  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

his  heart :  the  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  under- 
standing,  and  which  keeps  the  senses,^  Rom.  v.  5, 
Phil.  iv.  7.  that  is^  a  peace  which  is  superior  to  the 
action  of  the  senses,  and  not  to  be  interrupted  by  the 
exercise  of  them.  It  is  he,  who  can  enable  him  to 
celebrate  a  victory  during  an  apparent  defeat :  who 
can  overflow  in  a  sufferer's  heart,  the  pains  of  mar» 
tyrdom  with  the  pleasures  of  paradise,  and  fill  the 
mouth  with  shouts  of  triumph  and  songs  of  praise. 

Speak,  ye  martyrs  of  Jesus  Christ,  tell  us  what 
influence  the  infinite  God  hath  over  the  soull  Be  ye 
our  divines  and  philosophers.  What  did  ye  feel, 
when,  penetrating  through  a  shower  of  stones,  ye 
cried,  "  Behold,  we  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  the 
Son  of  man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God  ?"^ 
Acts  vii.  56.  What  did  ye  feel,  when  experiencing 
all  the  rage  of  cruel  Nero,  ye  exulted,  "  We  rejoice 
in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God  ?"  Rom.  v.  2.  But 
this  is  not  the  whole  of  the  believer's  joy.  The  ex- 
pectation of  arriving  at  great  happiness  by  means  of 
tribulations  may  naturally  produce  a  patient  suhmis- 
sion  to  tribulations.  But  here  is  something  more. 
"  We  rejoice,"  saith  St.  Paul,  *'  in  hope  of  the  glory 
of  God.  And  not  only  so,"  adds  he,  (weigh  this 
expressive  sentence,  my  brethren,)  "  not  only  so ;" 

*  Our  author  uses  the  common  readmg  of  the  French  bible, 
which  is,  garde  les  sens.  The  original  word  is  used  in  the  holy- 
scriptures  for  rejlection,  Rom.  vii.  25.  and  for  sensation.  Jam.  i. 
23.  The  reason  of  our  following  the  French  reading  in  this 
place  is  obvious.  Where  the  same  reason  does  not  oblige  us, 
we  have  made  it  a  law,  in  quotations  of  scripture,  scrupulously 
to  adhere  to  our  English  text. 


God  the  only  Ohjcct  of  Fear.  411 

it  is  not  only  "the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God"  that 
supports  and  comforts  us;  "not  only  so;  but  we 
glory  in  tribulations  also,  knowing  that  tribulation 
worketlj  patience,  and  patience  experience,  and  ex- 
perience hope :  and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed,  be- 
cause the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts, 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given  unto  us."  What 
-did  ye  feel,  when  your  executioners,  not  being  able 
to  obtain  your  voluntary  adoration  of  their  idols, 
endeavoured  to  obtain  it  by  force  ;"  when,  refusing 
to  offer  that  incense  which  they  had  put  into  your 
hands,  ye  sang,  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  teacheth 
our  hands  to  war  and  our  fingers  to  fight  ?  Ps.  cxliv. 
1.  What  did  ye  feel,  when,  wrapping  your  heads 
in  the  few  rags  that  persecution  had  left  you,  ye 
refused  to  look  at  the  worship  of  idols,  and  patient- 
ly submitted  to  be  bruised  with  bastinadoes,  con- 
demned to  thegallies,  and  chained  to  the  oars  ?  What 
did  ye  feel,  when,  in  that  painful  situation,  ye  em- 
ployed the  remainder  of  your  strength  to  look  up- 
w^ard  and  to  adore  the  God  of  heaven  and  earth  ?  It 
is  God  who  supports  his  creature  amidst  all  these, 
torments,  and  he  alone  can  infinitely  diversify  and 
extend  his  sensibility.  None  but  he  can  excite  in 
the  soul  those  ineffable  pleasures,  of  which  we  have 
no  ideas,  and  which  we  can  express  by  no  names : 
but  which  will  be  the  objects  of  our  eternal  praises, 
if  they  be  the  objects  of  our  present  faith  and  hope. 
It  is  God,  and  only  God,  who  can  communicate  hap- 
piness in  this  manner.  None  of  this  power  is  in  the 
hand  of  man.  JVho  art  thou,  spiritual  creature,  to 
be  afraid  of  a  man  ? 


412  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear, 

But  we  add  farther,  Who  art  thou,  immortal  crea- 
ture, to  he  afraid  of  a  man  that  shall  die  ?  Tlie  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  elevates  it  above  a  mortal  pow- 
er, and  renders  supreme  fear  a  just  homage  to  none 
but  to  that  Being  whose  dominion  continues  as  long 
as  the  soul  continues  to  exist.  Can  we  be  such  no- 
vices, I  do  not  say  in  the  school  of  revelation,  but  in 
that  of  the  most  superficial  reason,  as  to  confound  the 
duration  of  the  soul  with  the  duration  of  life  ?  Or 
rather,  are  we  so  expert  in  the  art  of  going  from 
the  great  to  the  little,  from  the  little  to  the  less,  from 
the  less  to  the  least  divisible  parts  of  time,  or  of  mat- 
ter, as  to  assign  an  atom  of  matter  so  minute,  or  an 
instant  of  time  so  inconsiderable,  that  either  of  them 
would  express  the  shortness  of  a  mortal  life  in  com- 
parison of  the  duration  of  an  immortal  soul  ?  The 
most  accurate  teachers  of  logic  and  metaphysics  for- 
bid the  use  of  the  terms,  length,  duration,  period,  in 
speaking  of  eternity.  We  may  say  a  length,  a  du- 
ration, a  period,  of  a  thousand,  or  of  ten  thousand 
millions  of  ages :  but  if  we  speak  accurately  and 
philosophically,  we  cannot  say  the  duration  of  eter- 
nity, the  length  of  eternity,  the  periods  of  eternity  s 
because  all  the  terms  that  are  applicable  to  tirne,  are 
inadequate  to  eternity.  No,  no,  ye  would  attempt 
difficulties  altogether  insurmountable,  were  ye  to 
try  to  find  a  quantity  so  small  as  to  express  the 
shortness  of  a  mortal  life  in  comparison  of  the  dura- 
tion of  an  immortal  soul.  Not  only  the  most  ex- 
pert mathematician  is  unequal  to  the  attempt :  but 
it  implies  a  contradiction  to  aflfirm,  that  the  infinite 
spirit  can  do  this ;  because  contradiction  never  is  an 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear,  413 

object  of  infinite  power,  and  because  it  implies  a 
contradiction  to  measure  the  existence  of  an  immor- 
tal soul  by  the  duration  of  a  mortal  life.  It  can 
never  be  said  that  a  hundred  years  are  tlie  thou- 
sandth, or  tl  e  ten  thousandtli,  or  the  hundred  tliou- 
sandth  part  of  eternity.  The  inspired  writers,  whose 
language  was  often  as  just  as  their  ideas  were  pure, 
have  told  us,  that  life  is  as  the  ni  the  ring  grass  ;  as  a 
failing  Jlower ;  as  a  declining  shadow;  snifter  than 
the  rapid  and  imperceptible  motion  of  a  weaver's 
shuttle.  They  call  it  a  vapour,  that  is  dissipated  in 
the  ail';  a  dream,  of  which  no  vestige  remains  when 
the  morning  is  come;  a  thought^  that  vanisheth  as 
soon  as  it  is  formed;  a  phantom  f  which  walketh  in 
a  vain  shew,  Isa.  xl.  7.  Ps.  cii.  11.  Job  vii.  6.  James 
iv.  14.  Ps.  Ixxiii.  20.  But  by  all  these  emblems  they 
meant  to  excite  humility  in  us ;  but  not  to  give  us 
any  ideas  of  a  proportion  between  tiie  duration  of 
withering  grass,  fading  flowers,  declining  shadows, 
the  time  of  throwing  a  weaver's  shuttle,  of  the  dissi- 
pation of  a  vapour,  of  the  passing  of  a  dream,  of  the 
forming  and  losing  of  a  thought,  of  the  appearance  of 
a  phantom,  and  the  eternal  existence  of  an  immortal 
soul.  Such  is  the  life  of  man  1  and  such  the  dura- 
lion  of  the  dominion  of  a  tyrant  over  an  immortal 
soul !  a  duration  which  is  only  a  point  in  eternity. 
A  tyrant  is  mortal,  his  empire  expires  with  his  life, 
and  were  he  to  employ  the  whole  course  of  his  life 
in  tormenting  a  martyr,  and  in  trying  to  impair  his 
felicity,  he  would  resemble  an  idiot  throwing  stones 
at  the  ligiitning,  while,  in  an  indivisible  moment,  and 
*  Psal.  xc.  9.  Heb.  t  Psal.  xxxix.  5,  6.  Hcb. 


414  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear, 

with  an  inconceivable  rapidity,  it  caught  his  eye  as 
it  passed  from  the  east  to  the  west. 

But  God  is  the  king  immortal,  1  Tim.  i.  17.  and 
the  eternity  of  his  dominion  is  sufficient,  my  dear 
hearers,  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the  text,  and  to 
fix  all  the  possible  attention  of  your  minds  on  this 
question,  Who  would  not  fear  thee,  O  king  of  na- 
tions !  The  immortal  king  is  the  only  fit  object  of 
the  fear  of  an  immortal  soul.  There  is  no  empire 
immortal  but  that  of  God,  no  dominion  unchangea- 
ble but  his.  AVhen  the  soul  enters  eternity  it  will 
be  subject  only  to  the  God  of  eternity  :  "  O  my  God, 
of  old  hast  thou  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth ; 
and  the  heavens  are  the  work  of  thy  hands  :  They 
shall  perish,  but  thou  shalt  endure;  yea,  all  of 
them  shall  wax  old  like  a  garment;  as  a  vesture 
shalt  thou  change  them,  and  they  shall  be  changed. 
But  thou  art  the  same,  and  thy  years  shall  have  no 
end !"  Ps.  cii.  24.  We  must,  of  necessity,  take  up 
again  the  words  space,  duration,  period,  which 
we  just  now  discarded  for  their  impropriety, 
when  applied  to  eternity.  During  the  periods 
of  eternity,  through  all  the  duration  of  the  ex- 
istence of  him,  who  is  the  same,  and  whose  years 
shall  have  no  end,  the  immortal  God  will  for  ev- 
er produce  the  happiness,  or  the  misery  of  an 
immortal  soul.  His  dominion  over  it  will  be  eter- 
nally exercised  in  rendering  it  happy  or  miserable. 
The  reprobate  soul  will  eternally  be  the  object  of 
the  avenging  power  of  this  God,  for  it  will  eternally 
be  under  the  hand  of  its  judge.  The  faithful  soul 
will  eternally  be  the  recipient  of  the  beneficence  of 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear,  415 

the  immortal  God,  who  is  the  worthy  object,  the  on- 
ly object  of  solid  hope  and  supreme  fear.  Fear  not 
them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the 
sold :  bid  rather  fear  him  nhich  is  able  to  destroy  both 
soul  and  body  in  hell :  yea,  I  say  unto  you,  fear  him. 
Who  nould  not  fear  thee,  O  king  of  nations  ?  Doth 
not  fear  appertain  to  thee  alone  ? 

III.  Here,  my  brethren,  could  I  think  that  I  had 
been  preaching  to  marbles,  and  to  rocks ;  could  I 
think  that  I  had  been  discoursing  to  men,  who  at- 
tended on  the  preacher  without  hearing  the  sermon, 
or  who  heard  without  understanding  it ;  I  should 
think  other  proofs  needful  to  demonstrate,  that  God 
alone  merited  the  hofnage  of  supreme  fear.  Could  I 
think  that  I  had  been  preaching  to  men,  who  were 
all  absorbed  in  sense  and  matter,  and  who  could  form 
no  ideas  in  theii'  minds  unless  some  material  objects 
w^ere  presented  to  their  senses,  or  some  imagery  ta- 
ken from  sensible  objects  were  used  to  excite  them  ; 
I  would  insist  on  the  third  part  of  this  discourse.  If 
the  idea  of  a  Being,  whose  will  is  self-efficient  and 
who  can  act  immediately  on  a  spiritual  soul,  w  ere  not 
sufficient  to  incline  you  to  render  the  homage  of  fear 
to  God,  I  would  represent  him  under  the  third  nor 
tion,  which  we  gave  you  of  him,  as  making  all  crea- 
tures fulfil  his  will.  If  tyrants,  executioners,  pris- 
ons, dungeons,  racks,  tortures,  pincers,  caldions  of 
boiling  oil,  gibbets,  stakes,  were  necessary  ;  if  all 
nature,  and  all  the  elements  were  wanted  to  inspire 
that  sold  with  fear,  which  is  so  far  elevated  above  the 
elements,  and  all  the  powers  of  nature  :  I  would 
prove  to  you  that  tyrants  and  executioners,  prisons 


416  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

and  dungeons,  racks  and  tortures,  and  pincers,  cal- 
drons of  boiling  oil,  gibbets  and  stakes,  all  nature 
and  all  the  elements  fulfil  the  designs  of  the  king  of 
nations ;  and  that,  when  they  seem  the  least  under 
his  direction,  they  are  invariably  accomplishing  his 
will. 

These  are  not  imaginary  ideas  of  mine  !  but  they 
are  taken  from  the  same  scriptures  that  establish  the 
first  ideas,  which  we  have  been  explaining.  What  do 
our  prophets  and  apostles  say  of  tyrants,  execution- 
ers, and  persecutors  ?  In  what  colours  do  they  paint 
them  ?  Behold,  how  God  contemns  tlie  proudest  po- 
tentates ;  see  how  he  mortifies  and  abases  them.  "  O 
Assyrian,  the  rod  of  mine  anger,  the  stafi*  in  your 
hand  is  mine  indignation :  howbeit,  thy  heart  doth 
not  think  so.  The  Lord  hath  broken  the  staff*  of  the 
wicked,  and  the  sceptre  of  the  rulers.  Thy  pomp  is 
brought  down  to  the  grave,  the  worm  is  spread  un- 
der thee,  and  the  worms  cover  thee.  How  art  thou 
fallen  from  heaven,  O  Lucifer,  son  of  the  morning  ! 
How  art  thou  cut  down  to  the  ground,  which  didst 
weaken  the  nations.  Thou  hast  said  in  thine  heart, 
I  will  ascend  into  heaven,  I  will  exalt  my  throne 
above  the  stars  of  God.  I  will  sit  also  upon  the 
mount  of  the  congregation,  in  the  sides  of  the  north. 
I  will  ascend  above  the  heights  of  the  clouds.  I  will 
be  like  the  Most  High.  Yet  thou  shalt  be  brought 
down  to  hell.  Because  thy  rage,  against  me,  and 
thy  tumult,  is  come  up  into  mine  ears,  therefore  will 
[  put  uiy  hook  in  thy  nose,  and  my  bridle  in  thy  lips, 
and  I  will  turn  thee  back  by  the  way  thou  earnest,'* 
Isa.  X.  5.  7.  ch.  xiv.  5,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15.  ch.  xxxvii. 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear,  417 

29.  O!  how  capable  Avere  our  sacred  authors  of 
considerins:  the  grandees  of  the  earth  in  their  true 
point  of  light !  O !  how  well  they  knew  how  to  teach 
us  what  a  king,  or  a  tyrant,  is  in  the  presence  of 
him,  by  whose  command  kings  decree  justice^  Prov. 
viii.  15.  and  by  whose  permission,  and  even  di- 
rection, tyrants  decree  injustice  !  The  last  words 
that  we  quoted  from  Isaiah,  relate  to  Sennacher- 
ib. And  who  is  this  Sennacherib,  whose  general, 
Rabshakeh  is  come  up  nith  a  great  host  to  over- 
whelm Jerusalem  !  AYhere  is  this  great  king  of 
Assyria  1  What  is  this  insolent  mortal,  who  saith. 
Where  are  the  gods  of  Hamath,  and  of  Arpad? 
Where  are  the  gods  of  Sepharvaim  ?  Hath  any  of  the 
gods  of  the  nations  delivered  at  all  his  land  out  of 
mine  hand  /  Shall  Ihr  Lord  deliver  Jerusalem  oid  of 
mine  hand?  2  Kings  xviii.  17.  34.  33.  What  is  this 
Sennacherib  ?  And  what  are  all  those  who  tread  in 
his  arrogant  steps  ?  They  are  wild  beasts  ?  but  wild 
beasts  in  chains,  conducted  whither  an  almighty  arm 
pleiseth  to  lead  them.  The  power  of  this  arm  is  a 
hook  in  the  noses  of  these  animals,  a  bridle  in  their 
lips  ;  it  turneth  them  by  the  hook  to  the  right  or  to 
the  left,  and  it  straiteneth  or  looseneth  the  bridle 
as  it  pleaseth.  By  tfiis  hook,  by  this  bridle,  God  led 
the  Assyrian  beast  \^  itliout  his  knowing  it,  and  when 
his  heart  did  not  think  so :  he  led  him  from  Assyria 
to  Judea,  from  Judea  to  Assyria,  as  his  wisdom  re- 
quned  his  presence  in  either  place. 

The  prophets  meant  to  inspire  us  with  the  same 
notion  of  insensible  and  inanimate  beings,  so  tl-at 
e\fv\  X\  ing  which  excites  iear  might  lead  us  to  fear 

VOL.    T.  53 


418  God  the  only  Ohject  of  Fear. 

the  king  of  nations,  who  hath  all  things  in  his  poweiv 
and  moves  all  according  to  his  own  pleasure.  We 
will  not  multiply  proofs.  The  prophet,  in  the  chap- 
ter out  of  which  we  have  taken  the  text,  mentions 
an  object  very  fit  to  inspire  us  with  the  fear  of  the 
king  of  naiions,  who  disposeth  inanimate  beings  in 
such  a  manner :  he  describe th  a  tempest  at  sea. 
The  gravity  of  this  discourse,  the  majesty  of  this 
place,  and  the  character  of  this  auditory  will  not  al- 
low those  descriptions  which  a  sportive  fancy  in- 
vents. We  allow  students  to  exercise  their  imagina- 
tions in  an  academy,  and  we  pass  over  their  glaring 
images  in  favour  of  their  youth  and  inexperience : 
but  sometimes  descriptions  supply  the  place  of  ar- 
guments, and  a  solid  logic,  not  a  puerile  rhetoric, 
requires  them.  We  are  now  in  this  case.  In  order 
to  humble  nian  in  the  presence  of  the  king  of  na- 
tions, we  tell  him  that  this  king  can  make  all  crea- 
tures fulfil  his  will.  With  the  same  design,  our  pro- 
phet gives  a  sensible  example  of  the  power  of  God, 
by  transporting  man  to  the  ocean,  and  by  shewing 
bim  "  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and  his  wonders  in 
the  deep.  God  uttereth  his  voice,"  saith  he,  in  a 
verse  that  follows  the  text,  "  and  there  is  a  noise  of 
a  multitude  of  waters  in  the  heavens.  He  causeth 
the  vapours  to  ascend  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
He  maketh  lightnings  with  rain,  and  bringeth  forth 
the  wind  out  of  his  treasures,"  Ps.  cvii.  24.  13. 
Thou  dull  stupid  man !  who  art  not  stricken  with 
the  idea  of  a  God,  whose  will  is  self-eificient,  and 
Vv'ho  alone  can  act  immediately  on  an  immaterial 
sou],  come  and  beliold  some  sensible  proofs  of  thai 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear,  419 

kifinile  power  of  which  inetapliysical  proofs  can 
give  thee  no  idea!  And  Ihou,  proud  insolent  man  • 
go  aboard  the  best  built  vessel,  put  out  to  sea,  set 
the  most  vigilant  watch,  surround  thyself  with  the 
most  formidable  instruments;  what  art  tliou,  when 
God  uttertth  his  voiced  What  art  thou,  when  the 
noise  resounds  ?  What  art  thou,  wlien  torrents  of 
rain  seem  to  threaten  a  second  deluge,  and  to  make 
the  globe  which  thou  inhabitest  one  rolling  sea? 
W^hat  art  thou,  when  lightnings  emit  tlieir  terrible 
flashes  ?  Wliat  art  tliou,  when  the  winds  come  roar- 
ing Old  of  their  treasures  ?  What  art  thou  llien  r  Ver- 
ily, thou  art  no  less  than  thou  wast  in  thy  palace. 
Thou  art  no  less  than  when  thou  wast  sitting  at  a 
delicious  table.  Thou  art  no  less  than  thou  wast 
^vhen  every  thing  contributed  to  thy  pleasure.  Thou 
art  no  less  than  when,  at  the  head  of  thine  army, 
thou  wast  the  terror  of  nations,  shaking  tiiC  earth 
with  the  stunning  noise  of  thy  warlike  instruments : 
for,  at  thy  festal  board,  within  thy  palace,  among 
thy  pleasures,  at  the  head  of  thine  armies,  thou 
wast  nothing  before  the  king  of  nations.  As  an  im- 
material and  immortal  creature,  thou  art  subject  to 
his  immediate  power:  but,  to  humble  and  to  con- 
found thee,  he  must  manifest  himself  to  thee  in  sen- 
sibk  objects.  Behold  him  then  in  this  formidable 
situation  :  try  thy  power  against  his  :  silence  the 
noise  of  the  multitude  of  waters  :  fasten  tlie  vessel 
that  reeleth  like  a  drunken  man  ;  smooth  the  foaming 
waves  that  mount  thee  up  to  heaven;  fill  up  the  hor- 
rible gulfs  whither  thou  goest  down  to  the  bottoms  of 
the  moiujitains,  Psal.  cvii.  27.  26.  Jonah  ii.  7.  di^si- 


420  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear. 

pale  the  lightning  that  flasheth  in  thy  face  ;  hush  the 
bellowing  thunders;  confine  the  winds  in  their  cav- 
erns ;  assuage  the  anguish  of  thy  soul,  and  prevent 
its  melting  and  exhaling  with  fear.  How  diminu- 
tive is  man  !  my  brethren.  How  many  ways  hath 
God  to  confound  his  pride  !  "  He  uttereth  his  voice, 
and  there  is  a  noise  of  a  multitude  of  waters  in  the 
heavens.  He  causeth  the  vapours  to  ascend  from 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  He  maketh  lightnings  with 
rain,  and  bringeth  forth  the  wind  out  of  his  treas- 
ures. Who  Avould  not  fear  thee,  O  king  of  na- 
tions ?" 

In  this  manner  the  prophets  represent  all  beings, 
animate  and  inanimate,  material  and  immaterial,  as 
concurring  in  tlie  Creator's  will.  This  is  not  a  truth 
which  requires  the  submission  of  faith,  but  every 
branch  of  it  proceeds  from  reason,and  is  supported  by 
experience.  When  God  willeth  the  destruction,  or 
the  deliverance  of  a  people,  all  creation  executes  his 
design.  When  he  is  angry,  every  thing  becomes  an 
instrument  of  vengeance.  A  cherub,  brandishing  a 
flaming  sword,  prevents  the  return  of  guilty  man  to 
paradise.  The  air  infected,  the  earth  covered  with 
noxious  plants,  the  brute  creation  enraged,  wage  war 
with  the  rebel.  Grasshoppers  become  the  Lord's 
great  army,  io^Wi,  II.  flies  swarm,  waters  change 
into  blood,  light  turns  to  darkness,  and  all  besiege 
the  palace  and  the  person  of  Pharaoh.  The  heavens 
themselves,  the  stars  in  their  courses,  Jight  against  Si- 
sera,  Jud.  V.  20.  The  earth  yawns,  and  swallows  up 
Dathan  and  Abiram  in  its  frightful  caverns.  Fire 
consumes  Nadab  and  Abihu,  Korah  and  his  compa- 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear,  421 

iiy.  A  fish  buries  alive  the  prevaricating  Jonah  in 
his  wide  mouth.  But  on  the  contrary,  when  God 
declares  himself  for  a  people,  there  is  nothing  in  the 
universe  wliich  God  cannot  make  a  mean  of  happi- 
ness. The  heavens  unfurl  theu'  beauties ;  the  sun 
expands  his  light ;  the  earth  adorns  herself  w  ith  flow- 
ers, and  loads  herself  with  fruits,  to  entertain  the  fa- 
vourite of  the  king  of  nations ;  while  the  animals 
become  teachable,  and  offer  to  bow  to  his  service. 
"  All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God.  All  things  are  yours,  whether  Paul,  or  Ce- 
phas, or  the  world.  Behold,  I  will  do  a  new^  thing. 
Tbe  beasts  of  the  field  shall  honour  me,  the  di  agons 
and  the  owls :  because  1  give  waters  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  rivers  in  the  desert,  to  give  drink  to  my  peo- 
ple, my  chosen.  Ye  shall  go  out  with  joy,  and  be  led 
forth  w  ith  peace :  the  mountains  and  the  hills  shall 
break  forth  before  you  into  singing,  and  all  the  trees 
of  the  fields  shall  clap  their  hands.  Drop  down,  ye 
heavens  from  above,  let  the  earth  open  and  bring 
forth  salvation !  Rom.  viii.  28. 1  Cor.  iii.  22.  Isa.  xliii. 
19,  23.lv.  12.  xlv.  8. 

Thus,  my  brethren,  hath  God  proportioned  him- 
self to  our  meanness  and  dullness,  in  order  to  inspire 
us  with  fear.  Is  it  necessary,  to  make  us  fear  God, 
that  we  should  see  bodies,  various  parts,  and  prodi- 
gious masses  of  matter,  march  at  his  word  to  fulfil 
his  will  ?  Well,  behold  bodies,  in  various  parts  and 
in  vast  masses !  Behold !  universal  nature  moving  at 
his  word,  and  fulfilling  his  will.  Let  us  fear  God  in 
this  view  of  him,  if  our  minds  enveloped  in  matter 
cannot  conceive  an  idea  of  a  being,  whose  will  is 


422  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear, 

self-efficient,  and  who  alone  can  act  on  immaterial 
souls.  But,  my  brethren,  a  mind  accustomed  to 
meditation  hath  no  occasion  for  this  last  notion :  the 
first  absorbs  all.  A  God,  every  act  of  whose  will 
is  effectual,  is  alone  worthy  of  the  homage  of  fear. 
A  just  notion  of  his  power  renders  all  ideas  of  means 
useless.  Tlie  power  of  God  hath  no  need  of  means. 
Were  I  existing  alone  with  God,  God  could  make 
me  supremely  happy,  or  supremely  miserable :  one 
act  of  his  will  is  sufficient  to  do  either.  We  do  not 
mean  to  enlarge  the  idea,  when,  speaking  of  an  all- 
sufficient  Creator,  who  is  superior  to  the  want  of 
means,  we  treat  of  a  concurrence  of  creatures  :  we 
only  mean  to  level  the  subject  to  the  capacities  of 
some  of  our  hearers. 

Let  us  sum  up  w  hat  has  been  said.  To  consider  a 
creature  as  the  cause  of  human  felicity  is  to  pay  him 
tl  e  homao-e  of  adoration,  and  to  commit  idolatry. 
TLe  avaricious  man  is  an  idolater;  the  ambitious 
man  is  an  idolater ;  the  voluptuous  man  is  an  idola- 
ter :  And  to  render  to  a  creature  the  homage  of  fear 
is  also  idolatry  ;  for  supreme  fear  is  as  much  due  to 
God  alone  as  supreme  hope.  He  who  fears  w  ar, 
and  doth  not  fear  the  God  who  sends  war,  is  an 
idolater.  He  who  fears  the  plague,  and  who  doth 
not  fear  the  God  who  sends  the  plague,  is  an  idola- 
ter. 

It  is  idolatry,  in  public  or  in  private  adversities, 
to  have  recourse  to  second  causes,  to  little  subordi- 
nate deities,  so  as  to  neglect  to  appease  tlie  wrath  of 
the  Supreme  God.  To  consult  the  wise,  to  assem- 
ble a  council,  to  man  fleets,  to  raise  armies,  to  build 


God  the  only  Object  of  Fear.  423 

forts,  to  elevate  ramparts,  and  not  to  consider  the 
succour  of  heaven,  which  alone  is  capable  of  giving 
success  to  all  such  means,  is  to  be  guilty  of  idolatry. 
Isaiah  reproveth  the  Jews  in  the  most  severe  manner 
for  this  kind  of  idolatry.  In  that  day,  saith  the  pro- 
phet, speaking  of  tlie  precautions  which  they  had 
taken  to  prevent  the  designs  of  their  enemies ;  "  In 
that  day,  thou  didst  look  to  tlie  armour  of  the  house 
of  the  forest.  Ye  have  seen  also  the  breaches  of 
the  city  of  David :  and  ye  gathered  together  the 
Avaters  of  the  lower  pool.  And  ye  have  numbered 
the  houses  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  houses  have  ye 
broken  down  to  fortify  the  wall.  Ye  have  made 
also  a  ditch  between  the  two  walls,  for  the  w^ater 
of  the  old  pool :  but  ye  have  not  looked  unto  the 
maker  of  this  Jerusalem,  neither  had  respect  imto 
him  that  fashioned  it  long  ago.  And  in  that  day 
did  the  Lord  God  of  hosts  call  to  weeping,  and  to 
mourning,  and  to  baldness,  and  to  girding  with  sack- 
cloth :  and  behold,  joy  and  gladness,  slaying  oxen 
and  killing  sheep,  eating  flesh  and  drinking  Avine ; 
let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow^  we  shall  die.  And 
it  was  revealed  in  mine  ears  by  the  Lord  of  hosts. 
Surely  this  iniquity  shall  not  be  purged  from  you, 
till  ye  die,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  Is.  xxii.  8,  9,  10, 
11, 12,  13,  14.  Do  we  deserve  less  cutting  reproach- 
es ?  In  that  day,  in  the  day  of  our  public  and  pri- 
vate calamities,  we  have  consulted  wise  men,  we 
have  assembled  councils,  we  have  fitted  out  fleets, 
and  raised  armies,  we  have  pretended  by  them  to 
secure  these  provinces  from  impending  dangers  and 
Ave  have  "not  had  respect  unto  him  that  fashioned 


424  God  the  only  Object  of  Fear, 

them  long  ago."  But  what  are  wise  men  ?  What 
are  councils?  What  are  navies?  What  are  armies 
and  fortifications,  but  subordinate  beings,  which  God 
directs  as  he  pleaseth  ?  Ah !  ye  penitential  tears,  ye 
days  of  sackcloth  and  ashes,  ye  solemn  humiliations, 
ye  sighs  that  ascend  to  God,  ye  fervent  prayers,  ye 
saints  who  impart  your  souls  in  fervour;  and,  above 
all,  ye  sincere  conversions  to  the  king  of  nations, 
love  to  his  laws,  obedience  to  his  commands,  sub- 
mission to  his  will,  tenderness  to  his  people,  zeal  for 
his  altars,  devotedness  to  his  worship ;  if  ye  do  not 
prevail  with  the  king  of  nations  to  favour  our  de- 
signs, what  must  our  destiny  be?  And  ye  tragical  de- 
signs, black  attempts,  shameful  plots,  impure  associ- 
ations, criminal  intrigues,  execrable  oaths,  atrocious 
calumnies,  cruel  falsehoods,  with  what  oceans  of 
misery  will  ye  overflow  us,  if  ye  arm  the  king  of  na- 
tions against  us  ? 

To  conclude.  There  is  much  imbecility,  if  no 
idolatry  in  us,  if,  while  we  fear  God,  we  stand  in  too 
much  awe  of  second  causes,  which  sometimes  appear 
terrible  to  us.  No,  no,  revolution  of  ages,  subver- 
sion of  states,  domestic  seditions,  foreign  invasions, 
contagious  sicknesses,  sudden  and  untimely  deaths, 
ye  are  only  the  servants  of  that  God,  whose  favourite 
creature  I  am.  If,  by  his  command,  ye  execute  some 
terrible  order  on  me,  I  will  receive  it  as  a  comfortable 
order,  because  it  is  executed  only  for  my  good. 
Trouble  my  peace :  perhaps  it  may  be  fatal  to  me. 
Turn  the  tide  of  my  prosperity,  which  seems  to  con- 
stitute my  glory  :  perhaps  it  may  be  dangerous  to 
me.     Snap  the  silken  bonds  that  have  so  much  influ- 


God  the  only  Object  oj  Fear,  425 

ence  on  the  happiness  of  my  life  :  perhaps  they  may 
become  my  idols.  Pluck  out  my  eyes,  cut  off  my 
hands ;  perhaps  they  may  cause  me  to  offend,  Mat, 
xviii.  8.  and  may  plunge  me  into  the  bottomless 
abyss.  Bind  me  to  a  cross :  provided  it  be  my  Sav- 
iour's cross.  Cut  the  thread  of  my  life :  provided 
the  gates  of  immortal  happiness  be  opened  to  me. 

Christians,  let  us  satiate  our  souls  with  these  med- 
itations. Let  us  give  up  our  hearts  to  these  emo- 
tions. Let  us  fear  God,  and  let  us  fear  nothing  else. 
"  Fear  not  thou  worm  Jacob.  Fear  thou  not,  for  I 
am  with  thee ;  Be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am  thy  God ; 
I  Avill  strengthen  thee,  yea,  I  will  help  thee,  yea,  I 
will  uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my  right- 
eousness. Fear  not  thou  worm  Jacob,  and  ye  men 
of  Israel ;  I  will  help  thee,  saith  the  Lord,  and  thy 
Redeemer,  the  holy  One  of  Israel.  Who  will  not 
fear  thee,  O  king  of  nations  ?  for  to  thee  doth  it  ap- 
pertain," Isa.  xli.  10,  14.  May  God  inspire  us  with 
these  sentiments  I  To  him  be  honour  and  glory  for 
ever!  Amen. 


vol..  I.  «01 


SERMON  Xni. 

The  Manner  of  Praising  God. 

Preached  after  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

Psalm  xxxiii.  1. 
Praise  is  comely  for  the  upright. 

JL  HERE  is  something  very  majestic,  my  brethren, 
in  the  end  for  which  we  are  now  assembled  in  the 
presence  of  God.  His  Providence  hath  infinitely 
diversified  the  conditions  of  those  who  compose  this 
assembly.  Some  are  placed  in  the  most  eminent, 
others  in  the  most  obscure  posts  of  society.  Some 
live  in  splendour  and  opulence,  others  in  meanness 
and  indigence.  One  is  employed  in  the  turbulence 
of  the  army,  another  in  the  silence  of  the  study. 
Notwithstanding  this  infinite  variety  of  employments, 
ranks,  and  ages,  we  all  assemble  to-day  in  one  place ; 
one  object  occupies  us  ;  one  sentiment  animates  us  ; 
one  voice  makes  the  church  resound,  praise  ye  the 
Lord.,  for  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever,  Psa.  cxxxvi.  1. 
If  there  be  an  object  that  can  give  a  mortal  any  ideas 
of  the  first  impressions  which  are  made  on  a  soul,  at 
its  first  entering  the  glorious  palace  of  the  blessed 
God  in  heaven,  it  is  this.  The  first  objects  that 
strike   such  a  soul,  are  the  multitudes  of  aU  nations, 


428  The  Manner  of  praising  God, 

tongues,  and  people,  concentered  in  a  meditation  on 
the  beneficence  of  God,  prostrating  themselves  be- 
fore his  throne,  casting  their  crowns  at  his  feet,  and 
crying,  out  of  the  abundance  of  their  hearts,  which 
contemplate  the  perfections  of  a  being  worthy  of 
their  profoundest  praise,  "  Amen,  blessing  and  glo- 
ry, and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honour,  and 
power,  and  might,  be  unto  our  God,  for  ever  and 
ever.  Amen.  We  give  thee  thanks,  O  Lord  God 
Almighty,  which  art,  and  wast,  and  art  to  come ; 
because  thou  hast  taken  to  thee  thy  great  power,  and 
hast  reigned.  Great  and  marvellous  are  thy  works. 
Lord  God  Almighty ;  just  and  true  are  thy  ways, 
thou  King  of  saints !  Unto  him  that  loved  us,  and 
washed  us  from  our  sins  in  his  own  blood,  and  hath 
made  us  kings  and  priests  mito  God  and  his  Father ; 
to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen."  Rev.  vii.  12.  xi.  17.  xv.  3.  i.  5,  6,  This  is 
the  employment  of  the  blessed  in  heaven:  this  is 
what  we  are  doing  to-day  on  earth. 

But  what  a  contradiction,  what  a  contrast  appears, 
when,  lifting  up  the  exterior  habit  of  piety  that  cov- 
ers some  of  us,  we  examine  the  inward  dispositions 
of  the  heart.  The  psalms,  which  are  uttered  with 
the  voice,  are  contradicted  by  the  tempers  of  the 
heart.  The  mouths  that  were  just  now  opened  to 
bless  the  Creator,  will  presently  be  opened  again  to 
blaspheme  and  to  curse  him.  The  praises  which 
seemed  so  proper  to  please  hhn  in  whose  honor  they 
were  offered,  will  incur  this  reproof,  Thou  ivicked 
man !  What  hast  thou  to  do  to  take  my  covenant  in  thy 
mouth  1  Psal.  1,  16> 


The  Manner  of  praising  God,  429 

My  brethren,  if  we  would  join  our  voices  with 
those  of  angels,  we  must  have  the  sentiments  of 
angels.  We  must,  (at  least,  as  far  as  the  duty  is 
imitable  by  such  frail  creatures)  we  must,  in  or- 
der to  worship  God  as  those  happy  spirits  praise 
him,  love  him  as  they  do,  serve  him  as  they  do, 
devote  ourselves  to  him  as  they  devote  them- 
selves to  him  ;  and  this  is  the  manner  of  praising 
God,  to  which  I  exhort,  and  in  Avhich  I  would  en- 
deavour to  instruct  you  to-day,  agreeably  to  the  pro- 
phet's exalted  notions  of  it  in  the  words  of  the  text. 
What  day  can  be  more  proper  to  inspire  such  a  no- 
ble design  ?  What  day  can  be  more  proper  to  engage 
you  to  mix  your  worship  with  that  of  glorified  in- 
telligences, than  this,  on  which  we  are  come  "  unto 
the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  and  to  the 
church  of  the  first-born  which  are  written  in  hea- 
ven ?"  Heb.  xii.  22,  23. 

But,  who  are  we,  to  be  admitted  into  a  society  so 
holy?  Great  God!  Thou  dost  appear  to  us  to-day, 
as  thou  didst  formerly  to  thy  prophet,  "  sitting  upon 
a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  and  thy  train  filling  the 
temple,"  Isa.  vi.  1.  Aroimd  thee  stand  the  sera- 
phim, covering  themselves  with  their  wings  in  thy 
majestic  presence,  and  crying  one  to  another,  "Ho- 
ly, holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  whole  earth 
is  full  of  his  glory,"  ver.  3.  We  are  stricken  as 
thy  prophet  was,  with  such  a  tremendous  vision, 
and  each  of  us  cries,  with  him,  "Wo  is  me!  I  am 
undone!  1  am  a  man  of  unclean  lips!  and  yet,  mine 
eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord  of  hosts,"  ver.  5. 


430  The  Manner  of  praising  God. 

O  great  God !  command  one  of  thy  seraphim  to  fly 
to  us  as  he  flew  to  him ;  bid  him  touch  our  mouths, 
as  he  touched  his,  with  "  a  live  coal  from  off'  thine 
altar,"  ver.  6.  and  in  this  day  of  grace  and  mercy, 
let  him  say  to  each  of  us,  '"■  Lo,  this  hath  touched 
thy  lips,  and  thine  iniquity  is  taken  away,  and  thy 
sin  purged  !  Amen,"  ver.  7. 

Praise  is  comely  for  the  upright.  The  praising  of 
God  is  a  duty  of  which  we  may  form  two  diff*erent 
notions  :  a  general,  and  a  particular  notion.  By  a 
general  notion  of  praise,  I  mean,  the  exercise  of  a 
man,  who,  being  capable  of  examining  sublime  ob- 
jects, and  of  comprehending  grand  subjects,  fixeth 
his  attention  on  the  attributes  of  God,  feels  the  force 
of  those  proofs  which  establish  the  truth  of  them,  is 
delighted  with  them,  to  a  certain  degree,  and  is  hap- 
py in  publishing  their  praise.  I  mean,  by  a  partic- 
ular notion  of  praising  God,  the  exercise  of  a  man, 
who,  having  received  some  signal  favour  of  God, 
loves  to  express  his  gratitude  for  it. 

Each  of  these  exercises  of  praise  supposeth  reflec- 
tions and  sentiments.  To  praise  God  in  the  first 
sense,  to  reflect  on  his  attributes,  to  converse,  and 
to  write  about  them,  without  having  the  heart  affec- 
ted, and  without  loving  a  being,  who  is  described  as 
supremely  amiable,  is  a  lifeless  praise,  more  fit  for 
a  worldly  philosopher  than  for  a  rational  Christian. 
To  praise  God  in  the  second  sense,  to  be  affected 
with  tlie  favours  of  God,  without  having  any  dis- 
tinct notions  of  God,  without  knowing  whether  the 
descriptions  of  the  perfections  that  are  attributed  to 
him  be  flights  of  fancy  or  real  truths,  is  an  exercise 


The  Manner  of  praisijig  God,  431 

more  fit  for  a  bigot,  who  believes  without  knowing 
why,  than  for  a  spiritual  man,  who  judgeth  all  things, 
1  Cor.  ii.  15.  If  we  distinguish  the  part  that  these 
two  faculties,  reflection  and  sentiment,  take  in  these 
two  exercises  of  praise,  Ave  may  observe,  that  the 
first,  I  mean  the  praise  of  God  taken  in  a  general 
sense,  is  the  fruit  of  reflection,  and  the  second  of 
sentiment.  The  first  is,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  speak 
so,  the  praise  of  the  mind :  the  second  is  the  praise 
of  the  heart. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  which  of  these  tw^o  no- 
tions prevails  in  the  text,  whether  the  psalmist  use 
the  word  praise  in  the  first,  or  in  the  second  sense. 
If  we  judge  by  the  whole  subject  of  the  psalm,  both 
are  included.  The  praise  of  the  heart  is  easily  dis- 
covered. Whether  the  author  of  the  psalm  were 
Hezekiah,  as  many  of  the  fathers  thought,  who  say 
that  this  prince  composed  it  after  the  miraculous  de- 
feat of  Sennacherib  :  or  whether,  as  it  is  most  likely, 
David  w^ere  the  composer  of  it,  after  one  of  those 
preternatural  deliverances,  with  which  his  life  was 
so  often  signalized :  what  I  call  the  praise  of  the 
heart,  that  is,  a  lively  sense  of  some  inestimable  bles- 
sing, is  clearly  to  be  seen.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
still  clearer,  that  the  sacred  author  doth  not  cel- 
ebrate only  one  particular  object  in  the  psalm. 
He  gives  a  greater  scope  to  his  meditation,  and 
compriseth  in  it  all  the  works,  and  all  the  perfections 
of  God. 

Although  the  solemnity  of  this  day  calls  us  less 
to  the  praise  of  the  mind  than  to  that  of  the  heart; 
although  we  intend  to  make  the  latter  the  principal 


432  The  31anntr  of  praising  God, 

subject  of  this  discourse ;  yet  it  is  necessary  to  at- 
tend a  little  to  the  former. 

I.  The  praise  of  the  Lord,  taking  the  word  praise 
in  the  vague  sense  that  we  have  affixed  to  the  term, 
is  comely  for  the  upright :  and  it  is  comely  for  none 
but  for  them. 

"  Praise  is  comely  for  the  upright."  Nothing  is 
more  worthy  of  the  attention  of  an  intelligent  be- 
ing, particularly,  nothing  is  more  worthy  of  the 
meditation  of  a  superior  genius,  than  the  wonder- 
ful perfections  of  the  Creator.  A  man  of  superior 
genius  is  required,  indeed,  to  use  his  talents  to  cul- 
tivate the  sciences  and  the  liberal  arts :  but,  after 
all,  the  mind  of  man,  especially  of  that  man  to 
whom  God  hath  given  superior  talents,  which  assim- 
ilate him  to  celestial  intelligences,  was  not  created 
to  unravel  a  point  in  chronology,  to  learn  the  dif- 
ferent sounds  by  which  different  nations  signify  their 
ideas,  to  measure  a  line,  or  to  lose  itself  in  an  alge- 
braic calculation ;  the  mind  of  such  a  man  was  not 
created  to  study  the  stars,  to  count  their  number, 
to  measure  their  magnitude,  to  discover  more  than 
have  yet  been  observed.  Nobler  objects  ought  to 
occupy  him.  It  becomes  such  a  man  to  contem- 
plate God,  to  guide  the  rest  of  mankind,  to  lead 
them  to  God,  who  "  dwell eth  in  the  light  which  no 
man  can  approach  unto,"  1  Tim.  vi.  16.  and  to  teach 
us  to  attenuate  the  clouds  that  hide  him  from  our 
feeble  eyes.  It  becomes  such  a  man  to  use  that  su- 
periority which  his  knowledge  gives  him  over  us, 
to  elevate  our  hearts  above  the  low  region  of  ter- 
restrial things,  where  they  grovel  with  the  brute 


Tlie  Manner  of  praising  God.  435 

beasts,  and  to  help  us  to  place  tliem  on  the  bright 
abode  of  the  itnrnortal  God.  The  praise  of  the 
Lord  is  comely  for  uprio;ht  men. 

But  praise  is  comely  only  for  upright  men.  I  be- 
lieve it  is  needless  now  to  explain  the  word  upright- 
ness. The  term  is  taken  in  the  text  in  the  noblest 
sense :  this  is  a  sufficient  explication,  and  this  is  suf- 
ficient also  to  convince  us,  that  the  praising  of  God 
is  comely  for  none  but  upright  men.  I  cannot  see, 
without  indignation,  a  philosopher  trifle  witli  the  im- 
portant questions  tliat  relate  to  the  attributes  of 
God,  and  make  them  simple  exercises  of  genius,  in 
w  hich  the  heart  hath  no  concern,  examining  wheth- 
er there  be  a  God,  with  the  same  indifference  with 
which  he  enquires  whether  there  be  a  vacuum  in 
nature,  or  whether  matter  be  infinitely  divisible. 
On  determining  the  questions  w  hich  relate  to  the  di- 
vine attributes  depend  our  hopes  and  fears,  the  plans 
that  we  must  form,  and  the  course  of  life  which  we 
ought  to  pursue  :  and  with  these  views  we  should 
examine  the  perfections  of  God  :  these  are  conse- 
quences that  should  follow  our  enquiries.  AVith 
such  dispositions  the  psalmist  celebrated  the  praises 
of  God,  in  the  psalm  out  of  which  Ave  have  taken 
the  text.  How  comely  are  the  praises  of  God  in 
the  mouth  of  such  a  man ! 

l^et  us  follow  the  holy  man  a  moment  in  his  med- 
itation. His  psalm  is  not  composed  in  scholastic 
form,  in  which  the  author  confines  himself  to  fixed 
rules,  and  scrupuh)usiy  following  a  philosophical 
method,  lays  down  principles,  and  infers  consequen- 
ces.    However,  he  establisheth  principles,  the  most 

VOL.  I.  55 


434  The  Manner  of  praising  God, 

proper  to  give  us  sublime  ideas  of  the  Creator;  and 
he  speaks  with  more  precision  of  the  works  and  at- 
tributes of  God  than  the  greatest  philosophers  have 
spoken  of  them. 

How  absurdly  have  philosophers  treated  of  the  ori- 
gin of  the  world  ?  How  few  of  them  have  reasoned 
conclusively  on  this  important  subject?  Our  prophet 
solves  the  important  question  by  one  single  princi- 
ple, and,  what  is  more  remarkable,  this  principle, 
which  is  nobly  expressed,  carries  the  clearest  evidence 
with  it.  Tlie  principle  is  this :  By  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  were  the  heavens  madt  j  and  all  the  host  of  them 
hy  the  breath  of  his  mouth,  ver.  6.  This  is  the  most 
rational  account  that  was  ever  given,  of  the  creation 
of  the  world.  The  w  orld  is  the  work  of  a  self-effi- 
cient Avill,  and  it  is  this  principle  alone  that  can  ac- 
count for  its  creation.  The  most  simple  appearan- 
ces in  nature  are  sufficient  to  lead  us  to  this  princi- 
ple. Either  my  will  is  self-efficient,  or  there  is  some 
other  being  whose  will  is  self-efficient.  What  I  say 
of  myself,  I  say  of  my  parents,  and  what  I  affirm  of 
my  parents,  I  affirm  of  my  more  remote  ancestors, 
and  of  all  the  finite  creatures  from  whom  they  deriv- 
ed their  existence.  Most  certainly,  either  finite 
beings  have  self-efficient  wills,  which  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  suppose,  for  a  finite  creature  with  a  self-effi- 
cient will  is  a  contradiction :  either,  I  say,  a  finite 
creature  hath  a  self-efficient  will ;  or  there  is  a  first 
cause  who  hatli  a  self-efficient  will ;  and  that  there 
is  such  a  being  is  the  principle  of  the  psalmist ;  By 
the  word  of  the  Lord  were  the  heavens  made  ;  and  all 
the  host  of  them  hy  the  breath  of  his  mouth. 


The  Manner  of  praising  God.  435 

If  philosophers  have  reasoned  inconclusively  on 
the  origin  of  the  world,  they  have  spoken  of  its 
government  with  equal  uncertainty.  Tiie  psalmist 
determines  this  question  with  great  facility,  by  a 
single  principle,  which  results  from  the  former,  and 
^vhich,  like  the  former,  carries  its  evidence  with  it. 
The  Lord  looketh  from  heaven :  he  considereih  all 
the  works  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earthy  Psalm 
xxxiii.  13,  14.  This  is  the  doctrine  of  Providence. 
And  on  what  is  the  doctrine  of  Providence  founded  ? 
On  this  principle  :  God  fashioneth  their  hearts  alike, 
ver.  15.  Attend  a  moment  to  the  evidence  of  this 
reasoning,  my  brethren.  The  doctrine  of  Provi- 
dence, expressed  in  these  words,  God  considereih  the 
works  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  is  a  necessary 
consequence  of  this  principle,  God  fashioneth  their 
hearts  cdike,  and  this  principle  is  a  necessary  conse- 
quence of  that  which  the  psahnist  had  before  laid 
dow  n  to  account  for  the  origin  of  the  world.  Yes ! 
from  the  doctrine  of  God  the  Creator  of  men,  fol- 
lows that  of  God  the  inspector,  the  director,  reward- 
er,  and  the  punisher  of  their  actions.  One  of  the 
most  specious  objections  that  hath  ever  been  oppo- 
sed to  the  doctrine  of  Providence,  is  a  contrast  be- 
tween the  grandeur  of  God  and  the  meanness  of 
men.  How  can  such  an  insignificant  creature  as 
man  be  an  object  of  the  care  and  attention  of  such  a 
magnificent  being  as  God?  No  objection  can  be 
more  specious,  or,   in  appearance,  more  invincible. 

The  distance  between  the  meanest  insect  and  the 
mightiest  monarch,  w^ho  treads  and  crushes  reptiles 
to  death  witlwut  the  least  regard  to  them,  is  a  very 


436  The  Manner  of  praising  God, 

imperfect  image  of  the  distance  between  God  and 
man.  That  Avhich  proves  that  it  would  be  beneath 
the  dignity  of  a  monarch  to  observe  the  motions  of 
ants,  or  worms,  to  interest  himself  in  their  actions, 
to  punish,  or  to  reward  them,  seems  to  demonstrate, 
that  God  would  degrade  himself  were  he  to  observe, 
to  direct,  to  punish,  to  reward  mankind,  who  are 
infinitely  inferior  to  him.  But  one  fact  is  sufficient 
to  answer  this  specious  objection  :  That  is,  that  God 
bath  created  mankind.  Doth  God  degrade  himself 
more  by  governing  than  by  creating  mankind  ?  Who 
can  persuade  himself,  that  a  wise  Being  hath  given 
to  intelligent  creatures  faculties  capable  of  obtain- 
ing knowledge  and  virtue,  without  willing  that  they 
should  endeavour  to  acquire  knowledge  and  virtue? 
Or  who  can  imagine,  that  a  wise  Being,  w  ho  wilieth 
that  his  intelligent  creatures  should  acquire  knowl- 
edge and  virtue,  Avill  not  punish  them,  if  they  neglect 
those  acquisitions ;  and  w^ill  not  shew  by  the  distribu- 
tion of  his  benefits  that  he  approves  their  endeavours 
to  obtain  them  ? 

Unenlightened  philosophers  have  treated  of  the  at- 
tributes of  God  with  as  much  abstruse ness  as  they 
have  written  of  his  w  orks.  The  moral  attributes  of 
God,  as  they  are  called  in  the  schools,  were  myste- 
ries w  hich  they  could  not  unfold.  These  may  be  re- 
duced to  two  classes  :  attributes  of  goodness,  and  attri- 
butes of  justiee.  Philosophers,  who  have  admitted 
these,  have  usually  taken  that  for  granted  which  they 
ought  to  have  proved.  They  collected  together  in 
their  minds  all  perfections,  they  reduced  them  all  to 
one  object,  which  they  denommated  a  perfect  being ; 


The  Manner  of  praising  God.  437 

and  supposino;,  williout  proving,  tliat  a  perfect  Be- 
ing existed,  they  attributed  to  liim,  without  proof, 
every  thing  that  they  considered  as  a  perfection. 
The  psalmist  shews  by  a  surer  w  ay  that  there  is  a 
God  supremely  just,  and  supremely  good.  It  is 
necessary,  in  order  to  convince  a  rational  being  of 
the  justice  and  goodness  of  God,  to  follow  such  a 
method  as  tl^at  wliich  we  follow  to  prove  his  exist- 
ence. Wlien  we  would  prove  the  existence  of  God, 
we  say,  there  are  creatures;  therefore,  tliere  is  a 
Creator.  In  like  tnanner,  when  we  would  prove, 
that  a  creature  is  a  just,  and  a  good  being,  we  say, 
there  are  Cjualities  of  goodness  and  justice  in  crea- 
tures ;  therefore,  he,  from  whom  these  creatures 
derive  their  existence,  is  a  Being  just  and  good. 
Now,  this  is  the  reasoning  of  the  psalmist  in  this 
psalm :  The  Lord  loveth  righteousness  and  judgment, 
the  earth  isfidl  of  the  goodness  of  the  Lord,  ver.  5. 
that  is  to  say,  it  is  impossible  to  consider  the  works 
of  the  Creator,  without  receiving  evidence  of  his 
goodness.  And  the  works  of  nature,  which  demon- 
strate the  goodness  of  God,  prove  his  justice  also : 
for  God  hath  created  us  with  such  dispositions,  that 
we  cannot  enjoy  the  gifts  of  his  goodness  without 
obeying  the  laws  of  his  righteousness.  The  happi- 
ness of  an  individual,  who  procures  a  pleasure  by 
disobeying  the  lavss  of  equity,  is  a  violent  happi- 
ness, which  cannot  be  of  long  duration  :  and  the 
prosperity  of  public  bodies,  when  it  is  founded  in 
iniquity,  is  an  editice,  which  with  its  basis  will  be 
presently  sunk  and  gone. 


438  The  Manner  of  praising  God. 

But  what  we  would  particularly  remark  is,  that 
the  excellent  principles  of  the  psalmist,  concerning 
God,  are  not  mere  speculations :  but  truths  from 
which  he  derives  practical  inferences  ;  and  he  aims 
to  extend  their  influence  beyond  private  persons, 
even  to  legislators  and  conquerors.  One  would 
think,  considering  the  conduct  of  mankind  that  the 
consequences,  which  are  drawn  from  the  doctrines 
of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  belong  to  none 
but  to  the  dregs  of  the  people ;  that  lawgivers  and 
conquerors  have  a  plan  of  morality  peculiar  to 
themselves,  and  are  above  the  rules  to  which  other 
men  must  submit.  Our  prophet  had  other  notions. 
What  are  his  maxims  of  policy  ?  They  are  all  in- 
cluded in  these  words:  "Blessed  is  the  nation  whose 
God  is  the  Lord  ;  and  the  peopie  whom  he  hath 
chosen  for  his  own  inheritance,"  ver.  12.  What 
are  his  military  maxims?  They  are  all  included  in 
these  words :  "  There  is  no  king  saved  by  the  mul- 
titude of  an  host ;  a  mighty  man  is  not  delivered  by 
much  strength  :  An  horse  is  a  vain  thing  for  safety ; 
neither  shall  he  deliver  any  by  his  great  strength," 
ver.  16,  17.  Who  propose th  these  maxims?  A  her- 
mit, who  never  appeared  on  the  theatre  of  the  world? 
or  a  man  destitute  of  the  talents  necessary  to  shine 
there  ?  No  :  one  of  the  wisest  of  kings ;  one  of  the 
most  bold  and  able  generals ;  a  man,  whom  God  has 
self  elected  to  govern  his  chosen  people,  and  to  com- 
jnand  those  armies  which  fought  the  most  obstinate 
battles,  and  gained  the  most  complete  victories. 
W^ere  I  to  proceed  in  explaining  the  system  of  the 
psalmist;  I  might  prove,  that  as  he  had  a  right  to  in- 


The  Manner  of  praising  God,  439 

fer  the  doctrine  of  providence  from  tlie  works  of  na- 
ture, and  that  of  the  moral  attributes  of  God  from 
the  works  of  creation  ;  so,  from  the  doctrines  of  the 
moral  attributes  of  God,  of  providence,  and  of  Ihe 
works  of  creation,  he  had  a  right  to  conclude,  that 
no  conquerors  or  lawgivers  could  be  truly  happy 
but  those  who  acted  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  the 
just  and  good  Supreme.  But  I  shall  not  enlarge  on 
this  article. 

Permit  me  only  to  place  in  one  point  of  view  the 
different  phrases  by  which  the  psalmist  describes 
the  Deity  in  this  psalm.  "  The  eartli  is  full  of  the 
goodness  of  the  Lord.  By  the  word  of  the  Lord 
were  the  heavens  made :  and  all  the  host  of  them 
by  the  breath  of  his  mouth.  He  gatherelh  the  wa- 
ters of  the  sea  together,  as  an  heap :  he  layeth  up 
the  depth  in  storehouses.  The  Lord  looketh  from 
heaven :  he  beholdeth  all  the  sons  of  men.  From 
the  place  of  his  habitation  he  looked  upon  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth.  He  fashioneth  their  hearts 
alike;  he  considereth  all  their  works,"  Psal.  xxxiii. 
.5,  6,  7,  13,  14,  15.  From  these  speculative  ideas  of 
God,  he  derives  the  following  rules  of  practice, 
"  Let  all  the  earth  fear  the  Lord  :  let  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  world  stand  in  awe  of  him.  Our  soul 
waiteth  for  the  Lord :  he  is  our  help  and  our  shield. 
For  our  heart  shall  rejoice  in  him :  because  we  have 
trusted  in  his  holy  name.  Let  thy  mercv,  O  Lord, 
be  upon  us  according  as  we  hope  in  thee,"  Psal. 
xxxiii.  8,  20,  21,  22.  How  deliglitful  it  is,  my  breth- 
ren, to  speak  of  God,  when  one  hath  talents  to  speak 
of  him  in  such  a  noble  manner,  and  when  one  intends 


440  T'he  Manner  of  praising  God, 

to  promote  the  fear  and  the  love  of  him,  with  an 
universal  obedience  to  him,  from  all  that  is  said! 
How  well  it  becomes  such  a  man  to  praise  God !  The 
praise  of  the  Lord  is  comely  in  the  mouths  of  upright 
men. 

11.  Let  us  now  apply  the  subject  more  immediate- 
ly to  the  service  of  this  day.  To  praise  God  is  a 
phrase,  which  is  sometimes  taken  in  a  particular 
sense,  for  the  exercise  of  a  person,  who,  having  re- 
ceived singular  favours  of  God,  delights  in  expres- 
sing his  gratitude  to  him.  This  praise  is  comely  in 
the  mouth  of  an  upright  man  for  four  reasons. 

First,  Because  he  arrange th  them  in  their  true  or- 
der, highly  estimating  what  deserves  a  high  esteem, 
and  most  highly  estimating  what  deserves  the  highest 
esteem. 

Secondly,  Because  he  employs  all  his  benefits  in 
the  service  of  his  benefactor. 

Thirdly,  Because,  Avhile  he  recounts  his  blessings, 
he  divests  himself  of  all  merit,  and  ascribes  them 
only  to  the  goodness  of  God  from  whom  they  pro- 
ceed. 

Fourthly,  Because  he  imitates  that  goodness  and 
love,  which  inclined  God  to  bless  him  in  such  a  man- 
ner. 

I  will  affix  to  each  of  these  reflections  a  single 
word.  Praise,  or  if  you  will,  gratitude,  is  comely 
for  the  upright,  because  it  is  wise,  real,  humble,  and 
magnanimous  :  In  these  four  respects, /?m?5f  is  come- 
ly for  the  upright.  These  are  the  sentiments  with 
which  the  august  ceremony  of  which  we  have  par- 
taken this  morning,  should   inspire  us.     These  are 


The  3Ianricr  of  praisins^  God,  441 

the  most   important  reflections   with  wiiich  we  can 
close  this  discourse. 

1.  The  o^ratitude  of  upright  men  is  nise.  The 
praise  of  the  Lord  becomes  them  well,  because,  ^vhile 
they  bless  God  for  all  their  mercies,  they  arrange 
them  in  their  proper  order;  they  prize  each  accord- 
ing to  its  real  worth,  and  that  most  of  all  which  is 
of  the  greatest  value.  It  is  a  very  mortifying  re- 
flection, my  brethren,  that  the  more  we  study  our- 
selves, the  more  clearly  we  perceive,  that  the  love 
of  the  world,  and  of  sensible  things,  is  the  chief 
spring  of  all  our  actions  and  sentiments.  This  dis- 
agreeable truth  is  proved,  not  only  by  the  nature 
of  our  vices,  but  even  by  the  genius  of  our  virtues ; 
not  only  by  the  offences  that  we  commit  against 
God,  but  by  the  very  duties  that  we  perform  in  his 
service. 

A  person  so  ungrateful,  as  not  to  discover  any 
gratitude  to  God,  when  he  bestows  temporal  bless- 
ings on  him,  can  scarcely  be  found.  We  praise 
God,  when  he  delivers  us  from  any  public  calamity, 
or  from  any  domestic  adversity  ;  when  he  recovers 
us  from  dangerous  illnesses ;  when  he  raiseth  us  up 
an  unexpected  friend,  or  a  protector,  who  assists  us; 
when  he  sends  us  some  prosperity,  w  hich  renders 
life  more  easy.  In  such  cases  as  these,  we  render 
an  homage  to  God,  th*at  cannot  be  refused  without 
ingratitude. 

But  we  are  extremely  blameable,  when,  while  we 
feel  the  value  of  these  blessings,  we  remain  insen- 
sible of  the  w^orth  of  other  blessings,  which  are  in- 
finitely more   valuable,  and  which  merit  infinitely 

VOL.   T.  ,16 


442  The  Manner  of  praisinsr  God. 

more  gratitude.  A  blessing  that  directly  regards  the 
soul,  is  more  valuable  than  one  which  regards  only 
the  body.  A  blessing,  that  regards  our  eternal  hap- 
piness, is  of  greater  worth,  than  one  which  influenceth 
only  the  happiness  of  this  life.  Whence  is  it  then, 
that,  being  so  sensible  of  blessings  of  the  first  kind, 
we  are  so  little  affected  with  those  of  the  last  ?  How 
comes  it  to  pass,  that  we  are  so  full  of  gratitude, 
when  God  gives  the  state  some  signal  victory  ;  when 
he  prospers  its  trade  ;  when  he  strengthens  the  bonds, 
that  unite  it  to  powerful  and  faithful  allies ;  and  so 
void  of  it,  while  he  continues  to  grant  it  the  greatest 
blessing  that  a  society  of  rational  creatures  can  en- 
joy, I  mean  a  liberty  to  serve  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  our  own  consciences  ?  Whence  is  it,  that 
we  are  so  very  thankful  to  God  for  preserving  our 
lives  from  the  dangers  that  daily  threaten  them ;  and 
so  little  thankful  for  his  miraculous  patience  with 
us,  to  which  it  is  owing,  that,  after  we  have  harden- 
ed our  hearts  against  his  voice  one  year,  he  invites 
us  another  year ;  after  we  have  falsified  our  promi- 
ses made  on  one  solemnity,  he  calls  us  to  another 
solemnity,  and  giveth  us  new  opportunities  of  being 
more  faithful  to  him  ?  Whence  comes  this  difference? 
Follow  it  to  its  source.  Does  it  not  proceed  from 
what  we  just  now  said  ?  Is  not  love  of  the  world, 
and  of  sensible  things,  the*  grand  spring  of  our 
actions  and  sentiments  ?  The  world,  the  world ; 
lo!  this  is  the  touchstone  by  which  we  judge  of  good 
and  evil! 

An  upright  man  judgeth  in  another  manner :  he 
will,  indeed,   bless  God  for  all  his  benefits ;  but,  as 


The  Manner  of  praising  God.  443 

he  knows  how  to  arrange  them,  so  he  knows  how  to 
prize  each  according  to  its  worth,  and  how  to  ap- 
portion his  esteem  to  the  real  value  of  them  all. 

According  to  such  an  estimation,  what  ought  not 
our  gratitude  to  God  to  be  to-day,  my  dear  brethren! 
we  may  assure  ourselves  with  the  utmost  truth,  that 
had  the  Lord  united  in  our  hoiises  to-day  pleasures, 
grandeurs,  and  dignities  ;  had  he  promised  each  of  us 
a  life  longer  than  that  of  a  patriarch  ;  a  family  as 
happy  as  that  of  Job,  after  his  misfortunes ;  glory 
as  great  as  that  of  Solomon  ;  he  would  have  bestow- 
ed nothing  equal  to  that  blessing  which  he  gave  us 
this  morning.  He  forgave  those  sins,  which,  had 
they  taken  their  natural  course,  would  have  occasion- 
ed endless  remorse,  and  would  have  plunged  us  in- 
to everlastmg  misery  and  woe.  A  peace  was  shed 
abroad  in  our  consciences,  which  gave  us  a  foretaste 
of  heaven.  He  excited  hopes,  that  absorbed  our 
souls  in  their  grandeur.  Let  us  say  all  in  one  word : 
he  gave  us  his  Son.  "  He  tiiat  spared  not  liis  own 
Son,  how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us 
all  things?"  Rom.  viii.  32. 

2.  The  gratitude  of  upright  men  is  real.  The 
praise  of  the  Lord  becomes  them,  because,  while 
they  praise  God  for  his  benefits,  they  live  to  the 
glory  of  their  benefactor.  Every  gift  of  God  fur- 
nisheth  us  with  both  a  motive  and  a  mean  of  obedi- 
ence to  him.  It  is  an  excess  of  ingratitude  to  make 
a  contrary  use  of  his  gifts,  and  to  turn  the  benefits 
that  we  receive  against  the  benefactor  from  whom 
we  receive  them.  What  gifts  are  they  by  which 
God   hath  most   distinguished  us  ?    Thee   he  hath 


444  The  Manner  of  praising  God. 

distinguished  by  a  penetrating  genius,  which  ren- 
ders the  highest  objects,  tlie  deepest  mysteries,  ac- 
cessible to  thee.  Wo  be  to  thee !  if  thou  employ 
this  gift  to  invent  arguments  against  the  truths  of 
religion,  and  to  find  out  sophisms  that  befriend  in- 
fidelity. An  upright  man  devotes  this  gift  to  the 
service  of  his  benefactor  ;  he  avails  himself  of  his 
genius,  to  discover  the  folly  of  sceptical  sophisms, 
and  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  religion.  On  thee 
he  hath  bestowed  an  astonishing  memory.  Wo  be 
to  thee !  if  thou  use  it  to  retain  the  pernicious 
maxims  of  the  world.  An  upright  man  dedicates 
this  gift  to  his  benefactor ;  he  employs  his  memory 
in  retaining  the  excellent  lessons  of  equity,  charity, 
and  patience,  which  the  Holy  Spirit  liath  taught  him 
in  the  scriptures.  To- thee  he  hath  given  an  author- 
itative elocution,  to  which  every  hearer  is  forced 
to  bow.  Wo  be  to  thee  !  if  thou  apply  this  rare  ta- 
lent to  seduce  the  minds,  and  to  deprave  the  hearts, 
of  mankind.  An  upright  man  devotes  this  blessing 
to  the  service  of  his  benefactor  ;  he  useth  his  elo- 
quence to  free  the  minds  of  men  from  error,  and 
their  lives  from  vice.  Towards  thee  God  hath  ex- 
ercised a  patience,  which  seems  contrary  to  his  usu- 
al rules  of  conduct  towards  sinners,  and  by  which  he 
hath  abounded  towards  thee  in  forbearance  and  long- 
suffering.  W^o  be  to  thee !  if  thou  turn  this  bless- 
ing to  an  opportunity  of  violating  the  commands  of 
God ;  if  thine  obstinacy  rim  parallel  with  his  pa- 
tience, and  if,  "  because  sentence  against  an  evil 
work  is  not  executed  speedily,"  thy  heart  be  fulhj 
set  in  thee  to  do  evil,  Eccl,  viii.  1 1 .     An  upright  man 


The  Manner  of  praising  God.  44.'} 

devotes  Ibis  blessino;  to  bis  benefactor's  service. 
From  tbe  patience  of  God  be  derives  motives  of  re- 
pentance. How  easily  mio;bt  tliis article  1>e  enlarg- 
ed! bow  fruitful  in  instruction  would  it  be  on  tbis 
solemnity  !  But  we  proceed. 

3.  Gratitude  to  God  well  becomes  an  uprigbt  man, 
because  it  is  Immhle  ;  because  an  upriglit  man,  by 
publisbing  tbe  gifts  of  God's  grace,  divests  bimsclf 
of  bimself,  and  attributes  tbem  wbolly  to  tbe  good- 
ness of  bim  from  whom  tbey  came.  Far  from  us  be 
a  profane  mixture  of  tbe  real  grandeurs  of  tbe  Cre- 
ator witb  tbe  fanciful  grandeurs  of  creatures!  Far 
be  tbose  praises,  in  wbicb  be  wbo  offers  tbeui  always 
finds,  in  bis  ow  n  excellence,  tbe  motives  tbat  indu- 
ced tbe  Lord  to  bestow  his  benefits  on  bim ! 

Two  reflections  always  exalt  tbe  gifts  of  God  in 
tbe  eyes  of  an  uprigbt  man:  a  reflection  on  his  mean- 
ness, and  a  reflection  on  bis  unwortbiness ;  and  it  is 
with  tbis  comeliness  of  humility,  if  I  may  venture  to 
call  it  so,  tbat  I  wish  to  engage  you  to  praise  God 
for  tbe  blessings  of  tbis  day. 

1.  Meditate  on  your  meanness.  Contrast  your- 
selves with  God,  who  gives  bimself  to  you  to-day  in 
such  a  tender  manner.  How  soon  is  tbe  capacity 
of  man  absorbed  in  the  works  and  attributes  of  God ! 
Conceive,  if  thou  be  capable,  tlie  grandeur  of  a  Be- 
ing, wbo  "  made  tbe  heavens  by  his  word,  and  all 
the  host  of  tbem  by  tbe  breath  of  bis  mouth."  Think, 
if  thou  be  capable  of  thinking,  of  the  glory  of  a  Be- 
ing, wlio  existed  from  all  eternity,  whose  understand- 
ing is  infinite,  and  whose  power  is  irresistible,  w  hose 
will  is  above  controul.     Behold  bim  filling  the  whole 


446  The  Manner  of  praising  God, 

universe  with  his  presence.  Behold  him  in  the  pal- 
ace of  his  glory,  inhabiting  the  praises  of  the  bless- 
ed, surrounded  by  thousand  thousands,  and  by  ten 
thousand  times  ten  thousand  angels,  who  excel  in 
strength,  and  who  delight  to  fly  at  the  first  signal  of 
his  will.  Thou  human  soul !  contemplate  this  ob- 
ject, and  recover  thy  reason.  What  art  thou  ?  What 
was  thine  origin  ?  What  is  thine  end  ?  Thou  dimin- 
utive atom !  great  only  in  thine  own  eyes ;  behold 
thyself  in  thy  true  point  of  view.  Dust !  Ashes ! 
Putrefaction !  glorious  only  at  the  tribunal  of  thine 
own  pride;  divest  thyself  of  the  tawdry  grandeur  in 
w^hich  thou  lovest  to  array  thyself.  Thou  vapour ! 
Thou  dream !  Thou  exhalation  of  the  earth !  evap- 
orating in  the  air,  and  having  no  other  consistence 
than  what  thine  own  imagination  gives  thee;  behold 
thy  vanity  and  nothingness.  Yet  this  dream,  this 
exhalation,  this  vapour,  this  dust  and  ashes  and  pu- 
trefaction, this  diminutive  creature,  is  an  object  of 
the  eternal  care  and  love  of  its  God.  For  thee,  con- 
temptible creature !  the  Lord  stretched  out  the  hea- 
vens :  for  thee  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth  : 
let  us  say  more,  For  thee,  contemptible  creature ! 
God  formed  the  plan  of  redemption.  What  could 
determine  the  ^reat  Jehovah  to  communicate  him- 
self,  in  such  a  tender  and  intimate  manner,  to  so  con- 
temptible a  creature  as  man  ?  His  goodness,  his 
goodness  alone. 

Although  a  sense  of  our  meanness  should  not  ter- 
rify and  confound  us,  yet  it  should  exclude  arro- 
gance, and  excite  lowly  sentiments :  But  what  will  our 
humility  be,  if  we  estimate  the  gifts  of  God's  grace 


The  Manner  of  praising  God.  4  47 

by  an  idea  of  our  unworthiness  1  Let  each  recollect 
the  mortifying  history  of  his  own  life.  Reineml>er, 
thou!  thy  fiery  youth,  in  which,  for«:ettino;  all  tlic 
piinciples,  that  thy  pious  parents  liad  taught  thee, 
thou  didst  acknowledge  no  law  but  thine  own  pas- 
sionate and  capi'icious  will.  Remember,  thou !  that 
period,  in  which  thy  heart  being  infatuated  with  one 
object  and  wholly  employed  about  it,  thou  didst 
make  it  thine  idol,  and  didst  sacrifice  to  it  thine  hon- 
our, thy  duty,  thy  God.  Recollect,  thou !  the  cruel 
use,  that  for  many  years  thou  didst  make  of  thy  cred- 
it, thy  riches,  thy  rank,  when,  being  devoured  with 
self-love,  thou  wast  insensible  to  the  voice  of  the 
widow  and  the  orphan,  and  to  a  number  of  distres- 
sed people,  w  ho  solicited  relief  Remember  thou ! 
that  fatal  hour,  the  recollection  of  which  ought  to 
make  thy  head,  waters,  and  thine  eyes  a  fountain  of 
tears,  Jer.  ix.  1.  that  fatal  hour,  in  which,  God  hav- 
ing put  thee  into  the  fiery  trial  of  persecution,  thou 
couldst  not  abide  the  proof.  Like  Peter,  thou  didst 
not  know  a  disgraced  Redeemer ;  thou  didst  coward- 
ly abandon  a  persecuted  church,  and  wast  just  on  the 
point  of  abjuring  thy  religion.  Let  each  of  us  so 
consider  himself  as  he  seems  in  the  eyes  of  a  holy 
God.  A  criminal  worthy  of  the  most  rigorous  punish- 
ments !  Let  each  of  us  say  to  himself.  Notwithstand- 
ing all  this,  it  is  I,  guilty  I,  I,  wliose  sins  are  more  in 
number  than  the  hairs  on  my  head ;  it  is  I,  w  ho  have 
been  admitted  this  morning  into  the  house  of  God ; 
it  is  I,  who  have  been  invited  this  morning  to  that 
mystical  repast,  Avhich  sovereign  wisdom  itself  pre- 
pared ;  it  is  I,  Avho  have  been  encouraged  against  the 


448  The  Manner  of  praisino:  God, 

just  fears,  wliich  the  remembrance  of  my  sins  had  ex- 
cited, and  have  heard  the  voice  of  God,  proclaiming 
in  my  conscience,  "  Fear  not  thou  worm,  Jacob," 
Isa.  xli.  14.  It  is  I,  who  have  been  "  abundant! v 
satisfied  with  the  fatness  of  the  house"  of  God,  and 
have  "  drunk  of  the  river  of  his  pleasures,"  Ps.  xxxvi. 
8.  What  inclines  God  to  indulge  me  in  this  manner  ? 
Goodness  only !  O  surpassing  and  inconceivable  good- 
ness !  thou  shalt  for  ever  be  the  object  of  my  medi- 
tation and  gratitude !  "  How  excellent  is  ihy  loving- 
kindness,  O  God !"  ver.  7.  These  are  the  sentiments 
that  ought  to  animate  our  praise  to-day.  Such  praise 
is  comely  for  the  upright. 

Finally,  the  gratitude  of  an  upright  man  is  nohle 
and  magnanimous.  The  praise  of  God  well  becomes 
the  mouth  of  an  upright  man,  because  he  takes  the 
love  of  God  to  him  for  a  pattern  of  his  behaviour  to 
his  fellow  creatures.  St.  Paul  hath  very  emphatical- 
ly expressed  the  happy  change  w^hich  the  gospel 
produceth  in  true  Christians.  "  We  all  with  open 
face,  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
are  changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to 
glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,"  2  Cor.  iii. 
18.  Some  commentators,  instead  of  reading  vje  all 
heholding  as  in  a  glass,  as  the  expression  is  rendered 
in  our  translation,  render  the  words,  we  all  becoming 
mirrors.  I  Avill  not  undertake  to  prove  that  this  is 
the  meaning  of  the  term :  it  is  certainly  the  sesise 
of  the  apostle."*     He  means  to  inform  us,  that  the 

*  The  idea  of  rejiecting,  while  one  contemplates,  the  attributes 
of  God,,  is  a  very  fine  thought,  and  fully  expressive  of  the  be- 
nevolent effects  which  Christianity  produceth  in  its  disciples  :  But 


The  Manner  of  praising  God,  449 

impression,  which  the  evangelical  display  of  the  per- 
fections of  God  makes  on  the  soUls  of  believers,  en- 
graves them  on  their  minds,  and  renders  them  like 
minors,  that  reflect  the  rays,  and  the  objects  which 
are  placed  opposite  to  them,  and  represent  their 
images.  "  They  behold  the  glory  of  the  Lord  with 
open  face.  They  are  changed  from  glory  to  glory 
into  the  same  hnage,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord."  I  wish,  my  brethren,  that  the  impression, 
which  was  made  on  you  by  the  generosity  and  mag- 
nanimity of  God,  who  loaded  you  this  morning 
with  his  gracious  benefits,  may  transform  you  to-day 
"  into  the  same  image  from  glory  to  gloiy."  I  w  ould 
animate  you  w^ith  this,  the  most  noble,  the  most  sub- 
lime, the  most  comfortable,  way  of  praising  God. 

What  gave  you  so  much  peace  and  pleasure  this 
morning,  in  what  God  did  for  you  ?  Was  it  the  par- 
don of  your  sins  !  Imitate  it ;  pardon  your  brethren. 

Mr.  Saurin,  whose  busino.ss  as  a  Christian  minister  was  not  with 
the  fine ^  but  the  true^  only  meant,  by  what  he  had  said  above,  that 
it  was  agreeable  to  the  general  design  of  the  apostle.  Erasmus 
was  the  first  who  translated  St.  Paul's  term  tcujcTrl^i^of^evot  in 
speculo  reprxsentantes.  Beza  renders  it,  in  speculo  intuentes^ 
and  the  French  bibles  have  it,  nous  contemfilons  comme  en  un 
miroir.  Our  author  was  delighted  with  the  ingenuity  of  Eras- 
tnus,  however,  he  could  not  accede  to  his  translation,  because, 
1.  He  could  meet  witli  no  Greek  author,  cotemporary  with  St. 
Paul,  who  had  used  the  term  in  the  sense  of  Erasmus.  2.  Be- 
cause he  could  not  perceive  any  connection  between  that  signifi- 
cation and  the  phrase  ivith  ojien  face.  He  abode  therefore  by  the 
usual  reading.  See  Serm.  Tom.  ix.  S.  viii.  My  idea  of  an  ob- 
ject pleases  me,  therefore  it  is  a  true  idea  of  it,  is  contemptible 
logic  :  yet  how  many  pretended  articles  of  religion  have  arisen 
from  this  way  of  reasoning  I 
TOL.    I.  57 


450  The  Manner  of  praising  God, 

Was  it  his  past  forbearance  with  you  ?  Itiiitate  it ; 
moderate  that  impatience  which  the  ingratitude  of 
your  brethren  excites  in  your  minds.  Was  it  that 
spirit  of  coiumunication,  which  disposed  a  God,  who 
is  all  sufficient  to  his  own  happiness,  to  go  out  of 
himself,  as  it  Avere,  and  to  communicate  his  felicity 
to  creatures  ?  Imitate  it ;  go  out  of  those  intrench- 
ments  of  prosperity  in  which  ye  lodge,  and  impart 
yom-  benefits  to  your  brethren.  AVas  it  the  contin- 
ual watchfulness  of  God  for  the  salvation  of  your 
souls  ?  Imitate  it ;  exert  yourselves  for  the  salvation 
of  the  souls  of  your  brethren ;  suffer  not  those,  who 
are  united  to  you  by  all  the  ties  of  nature,  society, 
and  religion,  to  perish  through  your  lukewarmness 
and  negligence.  While  ye  triumphantly  exclaim, 
on  this  solemn  festival,  "  Let  us  make  a  joyful  noise 
to  the  Rock  of  our  salvation,"  Ps.  xcv.  1.  remem- 
ber your  persecuted  brethren,  to  whom  God  refuseth 
this  pleasure ;  remember  the  ways  of  Zion,  that 
"  moiu'n  because  none  come  to  the  solemn  feasts," 
Lam.  L  4. 

My  brethren,  how  pleasing  is  a  Christian  festival ! 
How  comfortable  the  institution,  to  which  we  were 
this  morning  called  !  But,  I  remember  here  a  saying 
of  Jesus  Christ  to  his  apostles,  "  I  have  other  sheep, 
w  hich  are  not  of  this  fold :  them  also  I  must  bring, 
and  there  shall  be  one  fold,  and  one  shepherd,"  John 
x.  16.  Alas!  we  also  have  sheep  in  another  fold. 
When  shall  we  have  the  comfoii  of  bringing  them 
into  this  ?  Ye  divided  families !  who  are  present  in 
this  assembly,  when  will  ye  be  united  ?  Ye  children 
of  the  reformation  I    whom  the  misfortunes  of  the 


The  Manner  of  praising  God.  451 

times  have  torn  from  us ;  ye  dear  paiis  of  ourselves ! 
when  will  ye  come  to  us  ?  AVhen  will  ye  be  re-gath- 
ered to  the  flock  of  the  great  Shepherd  and  bishop  of 
our  souls  ?  When  will  ye  shed  in  our  assemlilies  tears 
of  repentance,  for  having  lived  so  long  without  a 
church,  Avithout  sacraments,  without  public  worship  I 
When  will  ye  shed  tears  of  joy  for  having  recovered 
these  advantages  ? 

Great  God !  Thou  great  God  ivho  hidest  thyself! 
is  it  to  extingiush,  or  to  inflame  our  zeal,  that  thou 
delayest  the  happy  period  ?  Are  our  hopes  suspend- 
ed or  confounded?  God  grant,  my  dear  brethren, 
that  the  praise,  which  we  render  to  the  Lord  for  all 
his  benefits,  may  obtain  their  continuance  and  in- 
crease !  And  God  grant,  while  he  giveth  us  our  lives 
for  a  prey,  Jer.  xxi.  9.  that  those  of  our  brethren 
may  be  given  us  also !  To  him  be  honour  and  glory 
forever!  Amen. 


END    OF   THE   FIRST   VOLUME. 


I 


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